Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Siga Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA)

Siga Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGA) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 1,200 call options on the company. This is an increase of 1,438% compared to the average daily volume of 78 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Siga Technologies by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 65,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 5,522 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Siga Technologies by 744.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 211,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after buying an additional 186,067 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Siga Technologies in the third quarter valued at $235,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Siga Technologies by 5.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 463,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,243,000 after buying an additional 24,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Siga Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Siga Technologies Price Performance

SIGA opened at $6.77 on Friday. Siga Technologies has a 12 month low of $4.95 and a 12 month high of $9.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $484.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $6.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.44.

Siga Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Siga Technologies had a net margin of 43.22% and a return on equity of 35.23%. The company had revenue of $2.62 million during the quarter. On average, research analysts anticipate that Siga Technologies will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SIGA. Wall Street Zen lowered Siga Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Siga Technologies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, Siga Technologies has an average rating of “Sell”.

About Siga Technologies

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.