Athira Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATHA) director Kelly A. Romano has recently increased her stake in the company through a series of purchases, according to the latest SEC filings. Romano, who serves on the board of directors, bought a total of $100,050 worth of Athira Pharma shares, at prices ranging from $2.20 to $2.43.
The transactions, which took place on June 21 and June 24, involved the acquisition of 15,000 shares at a weighted average price of $2.2581 per share and 27,400 shares at a weighted average price of $2.4153 per share. The prices for these purchases varied, with the earlier transaction ranging from $2.20 to $2.32 and the latter one ranging from $2.39 to $2.43 per share.
Following these transactions, Romano now owns a total of 80,715 shares of Athira Pharma common stock. This move demonstrates a significant investment by a key insider of the company, which specializes in the development of biological products.
Investors often monitor insider buying as it can be an indicator of a director's confidence in the company's future prospects. Romano's recent purchases may thus be seen as a positive signal for Athira Pharma's outlook.
Athira Pharma has not made any public comments regarding these transactions, and it remains to be seen how this increased investment by a member of its board will impact the company's performance moving forward.
In other recent news, Athira Pharma has reached a preliminary settlement in a shareholder derivative lawsuit, as per a U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington order. The settlement includes corporate governance reforms and the payment of legal fees and expenses. Athira will implement specified corporate governance reforms and cover attorney's fees, litigation expenses, and awards for the lead plaintiffs. Final approval for the settlement is expected in 2024.
In other developments, Athira Pharma has appointed Dr. Javier San Martin as their new Chief Medical Officer. With over 25 years of experience in drug development, Dr. San Martin will play a crucial role in advancing Athira’s therapeutic candidates. As part of his appointment, Athira has granted Dr. San Martin an equity inducement award of stock options to purchase 400,000 shares of Athira’s common stock.
These are some of the recent developments involving Athira Pharma. The company continues to focus on advancing its pipeline of therapeutic candidates, with an emphasis on treatments for neurological diseases. Athira is currently conducting the Phase 2/3 LIFT-AD trial to evaluate fosgonimeton for the potential treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.
InvestingPro Insights
In light of the recent insider buying at Athira Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATHA) by director Kelly A. Romano, a deeper dive into the company's financials and market performance using InvestingPro data may offer additional context to investors. Athira Pharma's market capitalization stands at $82.79 million, reflecting its current valuation within the biotech industry. Despite the director's confidence, the company exhibits a negative price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of -0.71, indicating that it is not currently generating profits—a fact that aligns with analysts' expectations that the company will not be profitable this year.
Moreover, the stock has experienced significant price volatility; it has declined by over 15% in the past week and nearly 17% over the last month. This could suggest that while insiders like Romano see value in the long term, short-term investors may be reacting to recent performance or broader market trends. Additionally, the company's liquid assets exceed its short-term obligations, which could provide some stability in managing its financial operations.
For investors seeking more comprehensive analysis, there are additional InvestingPro Tips available that could shed light on Athira Pharma's financial health and stock performance. For instance, the company's cash burn rate and weak gross profit margins may be critical factors to consider. Intrigued readers can find out more by visiting https://www.investing.com/pro/ATHA, which includes a total of 11 InvestingPro Tips for a more informed investment decision. To enhance your investing toolkit, use coupon code PRONEWS24 to get an additional 10% off a yearly or biyearly Pro and Pro+ subscription.
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