Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Clearside Biomedical (NASDAQ:CLSD)

Clearside Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSD) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 4,038 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,327% compared to the average daily volume of 283 call options.

Clearside Biomedical Stock Down 3.4 %

CLSD traded down $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $1.43. The stock had a trading volume of 14,012,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,979. Clearside Biomedical has a 1-year low of $0.65 and a 1-year high of $2.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.69 and a beta of 2.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.23.

Clearside Biomedical (NASDAQ:CLSD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $0.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.15) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Clearside Biomedical will post -0.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clearside Biomedical

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Clearside Biomedical in the first quarter valued at about $49,000. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in shares of Clearside Biomedical by 172.2% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 54,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 34,359 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clearside Biomedical by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 582,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 35,900 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Clearside Biomedical in the first quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Clearside Biomedical in the 2nd quarter valued at $368,000. 18.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Chardan Capital started coverage on shares of Clearside Biomedical in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 price target on shares of Clearside Biomedical in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Clearside Biomedical in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Clearside Biomedical in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4.83.

About Clearside Biomedical

Clearside Biomedical, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the revolutionizing the delivery of therapies to the back of the eye through the suprachoroidal space. It offers XIPERE, a triamcinolone acetonide suprachoroidal injectable suspension for the treatment of uveitis macular edema. It also develops CLS-AX, an axitinib injectable suspension for suprachoroidal injection, which is in Phase IIb clinical trial to treat wet AMD.