Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Veru (NASDAQ:VERU)

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veru news, Director Michael L. Rankowitz purchased 95,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $0.55 per share, for a total transaction of $52,403.45. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 195,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,403.45. This trade represents a 95.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 14.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VERU. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Veru in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Weaver Consulting Group grew its stake in shares of Veru by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 69,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 20,280 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Veru by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 75,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20,430 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 20,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Veru by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 86,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. 47.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Veru Trading Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ VERU opened at $0.50 on Tuesday. Veru has a 1-year low of $0.45 and a 1-year high of $1.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $0.64 and a 200-day moving average of $0.72. The firm has a market cap of $72.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.91 and a beta of -0.46.

Veru (NASDAQ:VERU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.01. Veru had a negative return on equity of 112.75% and a negative net margin of 223.85%. On average, analysts forecast that Veru will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.