SunTrust Robinson just initiated coverage on SGMO with a "buy" rating
The shares of Sangamo Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SGMO) are up 1.7% at $10 at last check, after moving higher on the charts in their last five-consecutive closes. Additionally, SunTrust Robinson just initiated coverage on the gene therapy specialist with a "buy" rating and a price target of $22 -- a 120% premium to current levels.
Coming into today, the majority of analysts covering SGMO shared this bullish sentiment. Of the six in coverage, four brokerages rated it a "strong buy," while just two called it a "hold." Meanwhile, the consensus 12-month target price of $20.17 is more than double the equity's current perch and sits at a level the stock hasn't touched since April 2018.
The options pits have taken a bullish approach to SGMO, too. On the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) the security sports a 50-day call/put volume ratio of 22.21, which sits in the highest percentile of its annual range, indicating an unusually heavy appetite for calls of late.
Echoing this, Sangamo stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.10 sits in just the 2nd percentile of its annual range, suggesting short-term option players have rarely been more call-biased during the past 12 months.
SGMO saw a notable rally off its mid-March, three-year low of $4.81, surging toward an annual high of annual high of $12 on June 1. The shares eventually gapped lower after weeks of consolidation just below the area and now both the $10 mark and the security's 20-day moving average are keeping the security from closing this bear gap, though it still boasts an 18% lead for the year.