Siga Technologies Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:SIGA)

Siga Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGA) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 1,200 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,438% compared to the typical volume of 78 call options.

Institutional Trading of Siga Technologies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CSM Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Siga Technologies by 66.5% during the 3rd quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 596,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,458,000 after purchasing an additional 238,255 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Siga Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $966,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Siga Technologies by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 65,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 5,522 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP lifted its position in Siga Technologies by 33.4% during the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 25,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 6,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in Siga Technologies by 5.9% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 680,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,224,000 after buying an additional 37,640 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Siga Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of SIGA opened at $5.24 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $6.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.84. Siga Technologies has a one year low of $4.81 and a one year high of $9.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90 and a beta of 1.05.

Siga Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter. Siga Technologies had a net margin of 24.61% and a return on equity of 11.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.79 million during the quarter. On average, analysts predict that Siga Technologies will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Siga Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 7th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Siga Technologies from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Siga Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

About Siga Technologies

Siga Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: SIGA) is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of medical countermeasures for public health emergencies and biological threats. The company’s flagship product, TPOXX® (tecovirimat), is the first and only antiviral approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of smallpox. Siga has entered into procurement and development contracts with U.S. government agencies, including the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the Department of Defense, to supply TPOXX® for the Strategic National Stockpile.

Founded in 2002, Siga has built a pipeline of therapies targeting high-consequence pathogens such as smallpox, plague and other potential biothreat agents.