Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) Stock Price Up 4.9% – Still a Buy?

Summit Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ:SMMT)’s stock price shot up 4.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $14.24 and last traded at $14.2870. 1,362,987 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 4,155,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Summit Therapeutics from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $9.80 to $11.90 in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Summit Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Summit Therapeutics from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Summit Redstone set a $11.90 target price on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Summit Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.07.

Summit Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a PE ratio of -13.04 and a beta of -1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $14.11 and its 200-day moving average is $16.14.

Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.01). On average, sell-side analysts expect that Summit Therapeutics PLC will post -1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Summit Therapeutics news, CEO Robert W. Duggan acquired 3,810,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.12 per share, for a total transaction of $49,987,200.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 573,883,879 shares in the company, valued at $7,529,356,492.48. The trade was a 0.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mahkam Zanganeh purchased 3,810,000 shares of Summit Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.12 per share, for a total transaction of $49,987,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 573,883,879 shares in the company, valued at $7,529,356,492.48. This trade represents a 0.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 83.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Summit Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 36,391,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $636,480,000 after acquiring an additional 2,668,089 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Summit Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $138,838,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 106.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,371,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,907,000 after buying an additional 4,832,592 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,636,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,070,000 after acquiring an additional 274,425 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Summit Therapeutics by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,147,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,063,000 after purchasing an additional 14,745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 4.61% of the company’s stock.

About Summit Therapeutics

Summit Therapeutics plc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of precision medicines for serious and life‐threatening diseases. The company applies a targeted approach to drug design, focusing on novel mechanisms of action that differentiate its candidates from existing therapies.

Summit’s lead asset, ridinilazole (formerly SMT19969), is being developed to treat Clostridioides difficile infections and has received both Fast Track and Qualified Infectious Disease Product designations from the U.S.