Maravai LifeSciences Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:MRVI)

Maravai LifeSciences Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVI) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 1,002 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,791% compared to the typical volume of 53 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maravai LifeSciences

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in Maravai LifeSciences in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Maravai LifeSciences in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Maravai LifeSciences during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Maravai LifeSciences by 96.1% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Maravai LifeSciences by 99.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares during the period. 50.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRVI shares. Craig Hallum started coverage on Maravai LifeSciences in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Maravai LifeSciences from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Maravai LifeSciences from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.56.

Maravai LifeSciences Stock Performance

Shares of MRVI opened at $7.73 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.76. The company has a quick ratio of 7.41, a current ratio of 8.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of -8.59 and a beta of 0.01. Maravai LifeSciences has a 52-week low of $4.52 and a 52-week high of $16.62.

Maravai LifeSciences (NASDAQ:MRVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $74.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.99 million. Maravai LifeSciences had a negative net margin of 41.19% and a negative return on equity of 1.31%. Equities research analysts predict that Maravai LifeSciences will post -0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Maravai LifeSciences

Maravai LifeSciences Holdings, Inc, a life sciences company, provides products to enable the development of drug therapies, diagnostics, novel vaccines, and support research on human diseases worldwide. The company's products address the key phases of biopharmaceutical development and include nucleic acids for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, antibody-based products to detect impurities during the production of biopharmaceutical products, and products to detect the expression of proteins in tissues of various species.