Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $38.70, but opened at $42.48. Rigel Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $42.10, with a volume of 47,199 shares changing hands.

The biotechnology company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.79. Rigel Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 121.50% and a return on equity of 47.99%. The firm had revenue of $78.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.27 million.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on RIGL. Zacks Research cut Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target (up from $69.00) on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rigel Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rigel Pharmaceuticals news, Director Kamil Ali-Jackson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $87,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $354,375. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 10.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rigel Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RIGL. State Street Corp increased its position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 96.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,091,223 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,737,000 after buying an additional 536,905 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 836,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,806,000 after acquiring an additional 112,000 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 613,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,280,000 after acquiring an additional 12,267 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 390.8% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 544,282 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,312,000 after acquiring an additional 433,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 539,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,086,000 after purchasing an additional 64,800 shares during the last quarter. 66.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 8.6%

The stock has a market cap of $777.37 million, a PE ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.62.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Founded in 2003, Rigel focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel small molecule therapeutics targeting immune, hematologic and oncologic diseases. Leveraging a proprietary chemistry platform and expertise in signal transduction pathways, the company aims to address significant unmet medical needs in both rare and common disorders.

Rigel’s lead product, fostamatinib (commercially known as Tavalisse®), is an oral spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitor approved in the United States for the treatment of adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).