B. Riley Financial Initiates Coverage on Cue Biopharma (NASDAQ:CUE)

Analysts at B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on shares of Cue Biopharma (NASDAQ:CUE) in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley Financial’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 119.34% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on CUE. B Riley began coverage on shares of Cue Biopharma in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cue Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cue Biopharma from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.00.

Cue Biopharma Trading Up 10.7%

CUE opened at $37.84 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.96. Cue Biopharma has a 12-month low of $4.97 and a 12-month high of $45.50. The firm has a market cap of $274.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.40 and a beta of 2.45.

Cue Biopharma (NASDAQ:CUE) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported ($24.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.69) by ($22.45). The firm had revenue of $7.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.00 million. Cue Biopharma had a negative net margin of 435.83% and a negative return on equity of 620.06%.

Insider Activity at Cue Biopharma

In related news, CEO Shao-Lee Lin sold 18,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.62, for a total value of $522,543.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 705,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,205,576.90. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Michael Vincent Meluzio sold 5,628 shares of Cue Biopharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.09, for a total transaction of $169,346.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 48,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,473,236.49. This represents a 10.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 72,715 shares of company stock valued at $2,041,555 over the last 90 days. 14.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cue Biopharma

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Cue Biopharma in the second quarter valued at $83,000. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc lifted its holdings in Cue Biopharma by 1,231.2% during the 4th quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 440,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 407,568 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Cue Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth about $219,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Cue Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth about $338,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cue Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth about $389,000. 35.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cue Biopharma

Cue Biopharma, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapeutics that selectively activate and regulate antigen-specific T cells inside the body. Its approach is designed to direct the immune system toward cancer cells while potentially reducing the broad immune activation and toxicity associated with conventional immunotherapies.

The company’s proprietary Immuno-STAT (Selective Targeting of Antigens for Remodeling of T cells) platform uses biologic molecules that combine peptide-major histocompatibility complex components with immune-modulating signals.