Shares of ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ:ZIOP) dropped 7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $4.78 and last traded at $4.79, approximately 2,477,495 shares traded hands during trading. An increase of 45% from the average daily volume of 1,712,115 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.15.
ZIOP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of ZIOPHARM Oncology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5.50 target price on the stock in a report on Saturday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $6.50 target price on shares of ZIOPHARM Oncology in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BidaskClub raised shares of ZIOPHARM Oncology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Raymond James set a $6.50 target price on shares of ZIOPHARM Oncology and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, ValuEngine lowered shares of ZIOPHARM Oncology from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $6.60.
The firm has a market cap of $921.44 million, a P/E ratio of -9.98 and a beta of 2.60. The company has a current ratio of 10.34, a quick ratio of 10.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.02.
ZIOPHARM Oncology (NASDAQ:ZIOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.34). Analysts anticipate that ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc. will post -0.33 earnings per share for the current year.
In other ZIOPHARM Oncology news, CAO Kevin G. Lafond sold 11,667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.25, for a total value of $61,251.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 97,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $510,415.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in ZIOPHARM Oncology by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 16,673 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 2,640 shares during the last quarter. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of ZIOPHARM Oncology by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC now owns 28,011 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of ZIOPHARM Oncology by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 250,124 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,988 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association lifted its position in shares of ZIOPHARM Oncology by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 22,182 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 3,246 shares during the period. Finally, Aperio Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ZIOPHARM Oncology in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 45.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About ZIOPHARM Oncology (NASDAQ:ZIOP)
ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc, a biotechnology company, focuses on acquiring, developing, and commercializing a portfolio of immuno-oncology therapies for treating heterogenous solid tumors and unknown antigens. The company develops two immuno-oncology platform technologies, including Sleeping Beauty (SB), which is based on the genetic engineering of immune cells using a non-viral transposon/transposase system to reprogram T-cells outside of the body for infusion; and Controlled IL-12, which delivers interleukin 12 or IL-12, a master regular of the immune system, in a controlled and safe manner to focus the patient’s immune system to attack cancer cells.
