Veru Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:VERU)

Veru Inc. (NASDAQ:VERU) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 9,142 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 206% compared to the typical volume of 2,983 call options.

Insider Transactions at Veru

In other Veru news, Director Michael L. Rankowitz purchased 95,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $0.55 per share, with a total value of $52,403.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 195,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,403.45. This represents a 95.28 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veru

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Veru by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 95,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 19,724 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Consulting Group lifted its position in shares of Veru by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 69,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 20,280 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Veru by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 75,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 20,430 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Veru by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 85,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 20,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Veru by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 206,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 21,738 shares during the last quarter. 47.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $3.00 price objective on shares of Veru in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

Veru Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VERU traded up $0.02 on Monday, hitting $0.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 831,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,971,439. Veru has a 12-month low of $0.45 and a 12-month high of $1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $73.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.95 and a beta of -0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $0.65 and a 200-day moving average of $0.72.

Veru (NASDAQ:VERU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.01. Veru had a negative net margin of 223.85% and a negative return on equity of 112.75%. Sell-side analysts expect that Veru will post -0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Veru

Veru Inc, a late clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing medicines for treatment of metabolic diseases, oncology, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Its marketed products comprise FC2 female condom for the dual protection against unplanned pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections.