Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC) Trading Up 8% – Here’s Why

Shares of Celcuity, Inc. (NASDAQ:CELC) were up 8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $135.53 and last traded at $134.44. Approximately 509,765 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 810,381 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CELC shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Celcuity from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price objective on Celcuity in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Celcuity in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Celcuity from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Celcuity from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.50.

Celcuity Trading Up 8.4%

The firm has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.64 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a current ratio of 10.55 and a quick ratio of 10.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $117.80 and a 200 day moving average of $106.06.

Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported ($0.97) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.06) by $0.09. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Celcuity, Inc. will post -3.87 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard E. Buller sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.46, for a total value of $1,264,140.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $949,509.60. This represents a 57.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director David Dalvey sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total value of $3,517,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 65,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,144,200. This represents a 27.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,000 shares of company stock worth $5,111,950. 13.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Celcuity by 23.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,059,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,717,000 after buying an additional 391,262 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Celcuity by 68.0% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 47,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after buying an additional 19,313 shares during the last quarter. Atle Fund Management AB bought a new position in shares of Celcuity during the third quarter valued at about $1,836,000. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of Celcuity by 48.3% during the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 390,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,312,000 after buying an additional 127,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Celcuity by 2,142.0% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 14,930 shares during the last quarter. 63.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Celcuity Company Profile

Celcuity, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in precision oncology diagnostics. The company develops and commercializes predictive biomarker assays designed to identify which patients are most likely to benefit from targeted cancer therapies. By integrating functional profiling of tumor cells with molecular analyses, Celcuity seeks to optimize treatment selection and improve outcomes for patients with solid tumors.

Celcuity’s proprietary platform evaluates tumor cell sensitivity to various therapeutic agents using ex vivo assays that measure DNA damage response and other critical pathways.