Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on Forte Biosciences (NASDAQ:FBRX)

Forte Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBRXGet Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 2,105 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,116% compared to the typical daily volume of 95 put options.

Forte Biosciences News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Forte Biosciences this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: argenx will acquire all outstanding Forte shares for $77 in cash, giving investors a clear deal-value reference and significantly repricing FBRX above its pre-announcement level. The acquisition also gives argenx access to Forte’s experimental autoimmune therapy FB102, strengthening its immunology pipeline. Reuters article
  • Positive Sentiment: The all-cash structure reduces exposure to biotechnology development risk for Forte shareholders, while the premium and strategic interest from argenx provide support for the current valuation. Proactive Investors article
  • Neutral Sentiment: FBRX trading volume has been substantially above its average, consistent with merger-related positioning. A significant increase in put-option activity also indicates that some traders are hedging against deal or market risk rather than simply betting on further gains.
  • Negative Sentiment: Several shareholder-rights law firms, including Kahn Swick & Foti, are investigating whether the $77 consideration and sale process adequately protect shareholders. Similar investigations by Halper Sadeh, Ademi and Monteverde could create litigation, delay or renegotiation risk, although these announcements do not by themselves indicate that the transaction will fail. Kahn Swick & Foti investigation

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on FBRX. Barclays lowered shares of Forte Biosciences from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen downgraded Forte Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Forte Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore set a $77.00 price target on Forte Biosciences in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Forte Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Forte Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.50.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Forte Biosciences

Forte Biosciences Trading Up 0.2%

Forte Biosciences stock opened at $76.65 on Wednesday. Forte Biosciences has a 12 month low of $9.10 and a 12 month high of $76.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.59. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.52 and a beta of 2.85.

Forte Biosciences (NASDAQ:FBRXGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($1.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by ($0.08). As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Forte Biosciences will post -4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forte Biosciences

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBRX. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Forte Biosciences by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,765,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,146,000 after acquiring an additional 130,136 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Forte Biosciences by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,425,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,159,000 after purchasing an additional 21,943 shares during the period. Orbimed Advisors LLC boosted its position in Forte Biosciences by 101.8% during the second quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 1,196,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,477,000 after purchasing an additional 603,867 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Forte Biosciences by 16.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 566,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,501,000 after purchasing an additional 79,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cable Car Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Forte Biosciences by 127.7% in the second quarter. Cable Car Capital LP now owns 500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,465,000 after purchasing an additional 280,396 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.63% of the company’s stock.

About Forte Biosciences

(Get Free Report)

Forte Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative treatments to restore skin health by targeting the underlying biology of the skin barrier and microbiome. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Forte leverages proprietary platforms to discover and advance topical live biotherapeutic products and skin barrier therapies aimed at addressing serious dermatological conditions.

The company’s lead product candidate, FB-401, is a topical live biotherapeutic formulation designed to rebalance the skin microbiome in patients with atopic dermatitis.

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