ORIC Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ORIC) Shares Up 13.9% on Analyst Upgrade

ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORIC) shares rose 13.9% during trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $21.00 to $22.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. ORIC Pharmaceuticals traded as high as $9.53 and last traded at $9.20. Approximately 420,908 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 1,202,366 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.08.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of ORIC Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ORIC Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of ORIC Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of ORIC Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on ORIC Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 31st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, ORIC Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $18.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Pratik S. Multani sold 8,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.28, for a total value of $73,278.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $387,214.20. This represents a 15.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jacob Chacko sold 24,660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.28, for a total transaction of $204,184.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 778,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,447,205.44. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,361 shares of company stock worth $350,749. Corporate insiders own 5.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ORIC Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of ORIC Pharmaceuticals by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 35,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 12,545 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of ORIC Pharmaceuticals by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 66,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 8,300 shares during the period. Tema Etfs LLC bought a new stake in shares of ORIC Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $367,000. Sphera Funds Management LTD. boosted its holdings in ORIC Pharmaceuticals by 112.8% in the 4th quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. now owns 273,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,205,000 after purchasing an additional 144,817 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ORIC Pharmaceuticals by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 20,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 4,881 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.05% of the company’s stock.

ORIC Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $556.85 million, a P/E ratio of -4.31 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.48.

ORIC Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ORIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.52) by $0.01. On average, research analysts predict that ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

About ORIC Pharmaceuticals

ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery and development of therapies for treatment of cancers in the United States. Its clinical stage product candidates include ORIC-114, a brain penetrant orally bioavailable irreversible inhibitor, currently under Phase 1b study, which is designed to selectively target epidermal growth factor receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 with high potency towards exon 20 insertion mutations; ORIC-944, an allosteric inhibitor of the polycomb repressive complex 2 for prostate cancer, currently under Phase 1b study; and ORIC-533, an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73, currently under Phase 1b study, being developed for resistance to chemotherapy- and immunotherapy-based treatment regimens.