Chimerix (NASDAQ:CMRX) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Chimerix, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $8.52 and last traded at $8.52, with a volume of 191012 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Chimerix Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.91. The stock has a market cap of $766.70 million, a P/E ratio of -9.07 and a beta of 0.32.

Chimerix (NASDAQ:CMRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 21st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $0.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.31 million. On average, analysts forecast that Chimerix, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Chimerix

In related news, CEO Michael T. Andriole sold 7,370 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 609,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,405.56. This represents a 1.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders 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 hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMRX. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chimerix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $130,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Chimerix by 309.1% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 101,156 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 76,430 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in Chimerix in the fourth quarter worth $535,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Chimerix by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,557,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,900,000 after buying an additional 161,795 shares during the period. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C purchased a new position in shares of Chimerix during the 4th quarter valued at $13,124,000. Institutional investors own 45.42% of the company’s stock.

Chimerix Company Profile

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.