Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZVRA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZVRA) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.29.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ZVRA. Guggenheim upped their price target on Zevra Therapeutics from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Zevra Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Zevra Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Zevra Therapeutics from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Zevra Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 12th.

Zevra Therapeutics Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of Zevra Therapeutics stock opened at $7.97 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.17. The company has a market cap of $431.30 million, a P/E ratio of -4.05 and a beta of 1.98. Zevra Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $4.20 and a 12-month high of $9.76.

Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.67) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by ($0.28). Zevra Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 342.63% and a negative return on equity of 159.54%. The company had revenue of $12.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.93 million. Research analysts anticipate that Zevra Therapeutics will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO R. Laduane Clifton sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.86, for a total transaction of $86,460.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $403,697.46. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Neil F. Mcfarlane sold 61,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.86, for a total transaction of $481,605.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,745,391.60. The trade was a 21.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 85,773 shares of company stock worth $674,176 over the last 90 days. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zevra Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZVRA. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zevra Therapeutics by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 22,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 1,717 shares during the period. IFG Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Zevra Therapeutics by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 29,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 2,650 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Zevra Therapeutics by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 3,007 shares during the last quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. boosted its position in Zevra Therapeutics by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 26,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Zevra Therapeutics by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 16,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.03% of the company’s stock.

Zevra Therapeutics Company Profile

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc discovers and develops various proprietary prodrugs to treat serious medical conditions in the United States. The company develops its products through Ligand Activated Therapy platform. Its lead product candidate is KP1077, consisting of KP1077IH, which is under Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of idiopathic hypersomnia, and KP1077N, which is under Phase ½ clinical trial to treat narcolepsy.