Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Siga Technologies Call Options (NASDAQ:SIGA)

Siga Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGA) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 1,200 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,438% compared to the average volume of 78 call options.

Institutional Trading of Siga Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SIGA. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Siga Technologies by 150.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 872,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,333,000 after acquiring an additional 524,714 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Siga Technologies by 44.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 834,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,637,000 after purchasing an additional 255,902 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Siga Technologies by 143.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 405,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 238,869 shares during the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Siga Technologies by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 596,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,458,000 after purchasing an additional 238,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Siga Technologies by 90.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 489,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,990,000 after purchasing an additional 232,973 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Siga Technologies Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of SIGA opened at $4.86 on Thursday. Siga Technologies has a 12-month low of $4.81 and a 12-month high of $9.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $348.17 million, a P/E ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 0.97.

Siga Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $3.79 million for the quarter. Siga Technologies had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 24.61%. Equities research analysts predict that Siga Technologies will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Siga Technologies from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Siga Technologies Company Profile

Siga Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: SIGA) is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of medical countermeasures for public health emergencies and biological threats. The company’s flagship product, TPOXX® (tecovirimat), is the first and only antiviral approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of smallpox. Siga has entered into procurement and development contracts with U.S. government agencies, including the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the Department of Defense, to supply TPOXX® for the Strategic National Stockpile.

Founded in 2002, Siga has built a pipeline of therapies targeting high-consequence pathogens such as smallpox, plague and other potential biothreat agents.