Penwest Pharmaceuticals rises on options activity
Heavier-than-normal options activity drove up shares of Penwest Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PPCO). Jeff Goater, who covers Penwest for Cowen and Co., said the stock has been oversold and shares look “attractively valued.”
Investors selling January 5.0 puts and March 5.0 puts and buying June 7.5 calls pushed Penwest’s stock price up 24% in Wednesday trading.
“Small caps have been beaten down and it was nice to see a bit of a rally today,” Goater said.
Penwest CEO Jennifer Good will make a presentation at the BMO Capital Markets 2007 Focus on Healthcare Conference on Dec. 4 and the RBC Capital Markets 2007 Healthcare Conference on Dec. 12. Although the upcoming conferences are the only significant news that Penwest has announced this week, Goater said these conferences are probably not fueling the stock’s price increase.
Shares of PPCO closed at $6.20. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $4.68 to $18.14.
