Cerevel Therapeutics Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:CERE)

Cerevel Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CERE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 4,000 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 147% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,618 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on CERE. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $40.00) on shares of Cerevel Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Cerevel Therapeutics from $25.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Cerevel Therapeutics from $25.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.40.

Cerevel Therapeutics Price Performance

Cerevel Therapeutics stock opened at $41.85 on Friday. Cerevel Therapeutics has a one year low of $19.59 and a one year high of $43.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 10.92 and a current ratio of 10.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.53. The company has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.74 and a beta of 1.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director N Anthony Coles sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.01, for a total transaction of $2,050,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,638 shares in the company, valued at $641,314.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Cerevel Therapeutics news, insider John Renger sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.54, for a total value of $89,767.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,370 shares in the company, valued at $264,609.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director N Anthony Coles sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.01, for a total transaction of $2,050,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,638 shares in the company, valued at $641,314.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 104,667 shares of company stock worth $4,302,367. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cerevel Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Cerevel Therapeutics by 58.5% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,158 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 9,285 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Cerevel Therapeutics by 11.7% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 41,045 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,312 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Cerevel Therapeutics by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 25,860 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $905,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Cerevel Therapeutics by 138.3% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 251,618 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,809,000 after purchasing an additional 146,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Cerevel Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $507,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.73% of the company’s stock.

About Cerevel Therapeutics

Cerevel Therapeutics Holdings, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops various therapies for neuroscience diseases in the United States. It is developing Emraclidine, a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) that is in phase 1b clinical trials for the treatment of schizophrenia; and Darigabat, a PAM, which is in Phase 2 proof-of-concept trial in patients with drug-resistant focal onset seizures or focal epilepsy, as well as in phase 1 trial to treat panic symptoms model.