Chimerix (NASDAQ:CMRX) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Chimerix, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $8.53 and last traded at $8.53, with a volume of 330093 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CMRX. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $8.55 price objective (up from $7.00) on shares of Chimerix in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $8.50 target price (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Chimerix in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com started coverage on Chimerix in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $8.55 price target (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Chimerix in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Chimerix Trading Up 0.1 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $6.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.30. The company has a market capitalization of $800.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.07 and a beta of -0.18.

Chimerix (NASDAQ:CMRX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 21st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $0.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.31 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Chimerix, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael T. Andriole sold 7,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.52, for a total transaction of $33,312.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 609,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,755,405.56. This represents a 1.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,760 shares of company stock valued at $91,175. 13.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Chimerix

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMRX. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Chimerix by 154.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 817,739 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,846,000 after purchasing an additional 496,823 shares in the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Chimerix by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 44,305 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 8,134 shares in the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC bought a new position in Chimerix in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,626,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chimerix by 78.8% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 146,186 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 64,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palumbo Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chimerix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.42% of the company’s stock.

About Chimerix

Chimerix, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines to improve and extend the lives of patients facing deadly diseases. Its pipeline products include ONC201 a program that is in Phase 3 clinical trial for treating patients with H3 K27M-mutant diffuse glioma, as well as in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of rare neuroendocrine tumors; and ONC206, an imipridone, Dopamine Receptor D2 (DRD2) antagonist, and caseinolytic protease P (ClpP) agonist, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial for adult and pediatric patients with primary central nervous system tumors.