The company discontinued a drug study to treat colon cancer
The shares of G1 Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:GTHX) were last seen down 53.6% at $3.33, after the company announced plans to discontinue a drug study for the treatment of a type of colon cancer, with placebo outperforming the drug in anti-tumor efficacy data.
The security earlier slipped to an all-time low of $3.20, deepening its pullback from a rally that fell short of the $8.50 level at the start of the month. Shares have already shed 37.8% so far in 2023, and carry a 66.5% year-over-year deficit to boot.
The brokerage bunch is bullish on GTHX, meaning downgrades and or price-target cuts may be on their way. Of the seven analysts in question, six call the stock a "buy" or better, while the 12-month consensus target price of $33.33 is now a whopping 894.3% premium to current levels.
Short sellers have been piling on, however, with short interest up 21.7% over the last two reporting periods. The 3.12 million shares sold short account for 6.7% of GTHX's available float.
Options traders are already chiming in. Amid low absolute volume, 582 calls and 338 puts have crossed the tape, or 11 times the intraday average amount. Mot popular is the March 7.50-strike put. These traders might be onto something, as the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 134% sits in the 16th annual percentiles, suggesting they are pricing in low volatility expectations.