Savara (NASDAQ:SVRA) Shares Up 5.6% – Still a Buy?

Savara Inc (NASDAQ:SVRA)’s share price shot up 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $3.20 and last traded at $3.19. 138,171 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 1,266,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SVRA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $5.00 target price (down from $7.00) on shares of Savara in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. HC Wainwright cut their price target on shares of Savara from $10.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Savara in a research note on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $9.00 target price on shares of Savara in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.86.

Savara Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.99. The company has a market capitalization of $554.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.51 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 17.70 and a quick ratio of 17.70.

Savara (NASDAQ:SVRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Savara Inc will post -0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Matthew Pauls sold 54,702 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.31, for a total value of $181,063.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,536,379 shares in the company, valued at $5,085,414.49. This trade represents a 3.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph S. Mccracken purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $2.95 per share, with a total value of $59,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 210,837 shares in the company, valued at $621,969.15. This represents a 10.48 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Savara during the second quarter valued at about $59,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Savara during the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Savara during the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Savara by 64.4% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 6,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Savara in the second quarter worth approximately $105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

About Savara

Savara Inc, formerly Mast Therapeutics, Inc, is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of patients with rare respiratory diseases. Its pipeline includes AeroVanc, Molgradex and AIR001. AeroVanc is an inhaled formulation of vancomycin, which the Company is developing for the treatment of persistent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, lung infection in cystic fibrosis patients.