Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $38.70, but opened at $42.48. Rigel Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $42.10, with a volume of 47,199 shares traded.

The biotechnology company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.79. Rigel Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 121.50% and a return on equity of 47.99%. The business had revenue of $78.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.27 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RIGL has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective (up from $69.00) on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

Insider Activity

In other Rigel Pharmaceuticals news, Director Kamil Ali-Jackson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $87,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $354,375. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 10.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rigel Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $191,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,366 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 130.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,310 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 27,065 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $317,000. 66.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.27 and a 200 day moving average of $32.95. The company has a market cap of $777.37 million, a P/E ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

About Rigel Pharmaceuticals

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Founded in 2003, Rigel focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel small molecule therapeutics targeting immune, hematologic and oncologic diseases. Leveraging a proprietary chemistry platform and expertise in signal transduction pathways, the company aims to address significant unmet medical needs in both rare and common disorders.

Rigel’s lead product, fostamatinib (commercially known as Tavalisse®), is an oral spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitor approved in the United States for the treatment of adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).