Puma Biotechnology (NASDAQ:PBYI) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Puma Biotechnology (NASDAQ:PBYI) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Puma Biotechnology in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

Puma Biotechnology Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Puma Biotechnology stock opened at $6.12 on Friday. Puma Biotechnology has a 1 year low of $2.58 and a 1 year high of $7.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.70. The company has a market cap of $311.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 1.27.

Puma Biotechnology (NASDAQ:PBYI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. Puma Biotechnology had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 27.80%. The firm had revenue of $75.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.60 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Puma Biotechnology will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Alan H. Auerbach sold 18,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.88, for a total value of $105,910.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,145,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,018,191.88. This represents a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Douglas M. Hunt sold 5,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.88, for a total value of $29,482.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 155,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $916,733.16. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,937 shares of company stock worth $257,513. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Puma Biotechnology

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Puma Biotechnology by 69.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 108,301 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 44,484 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Puma Biotechnology by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 186,185 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 66,624 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Puma Biotechnology in the fourth quarter worth about $167,000. Verdad Advisers LP bought a new position in Puma Biotechnology during the fourth quarter worth about $330,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in Puma Biotechnology during the fourth quarter worth about $282,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.29% of the company’s stock.

Puma Biotechnology Company Profile

Puma Biotechnology, Inc is a late‐stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of targeted therapies for oncology patients. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the company focuses on advancing molecularly defined cancer treatments that address significant unmet medical needs.

The company’s lead product is neratinib, marketed under the brand name Nerlynx in the United States. Neratinib is an irreversible small‐molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor designed to target the HER2 receptor, and it received FDA approval in 2017 for extended adjuvant treatment of early‐stage HER2-positive breast cancer.