VistaGen Therapeutics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:VTGN)

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTGN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 2,482 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 31% compared to the average volume of 1,893 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VTGN. Stifel Nicolaus lowered VistaGen Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $1.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Maxim Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of VistaGen Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $0.90 price objective (down from $15.00) on shares of VistaGen Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of VistaGen Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of VistaGen Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, VistaGen Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $0.95.

VistaGen Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VTGN opened at $0.73 on Friday. VistaGen Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.68 and a one year high of $5.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3.67 and its 200-day moving average is $3.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.38 and a beta of 0.56.

VistaGen Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VTGN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $0.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.16 million. Analysts forecast that VistaGen Therapeutics will post -1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VistaGen Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of VistaGen Therapeutics by 1,068.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 19,331 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in VistaGen Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC raised its stake in VistaGen Therapeutics by 246.4% during the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 420,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 299,304 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VistaGen Therapeutics by 27.7% in the second quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 203,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 44,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of VistaGen Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $69,000. 78.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About VistaGen Therapeutics

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ:VTGN) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of next-generation medicines for central nervous system disorders. Incorporated in Delaware in 1998 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, VistaGen applies advanced human pluripotent stem cell technologies to accelerate drug candidate validation and optimization. The company’s core focus is on addressing unmet medical needs in major depressive disorder, neuropathic pain and dermatological conditions.

The company’s lead candidate, AV-101, is an oral prodrug designed to modulate glutamatergic neurotransmission via the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor pathway, with clinical programs targeting major depressive disorder and neuropathic pain.