Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) Trading 16.4% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAPR) shot up 16.4% during trading on Wednesday after Oppenheimer upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. The company traded as high as $9.15 and last traded at $9.6510. Approximately 1,782,658 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 2,898,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.29.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CAPR. JonesTrading downgraded Capricor Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Roth Capital cut shares of Capricor Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Maxim Group downgraded Capricor Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Alliance Global Partners downgraded shares of Capricor Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Capricor Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $2.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Capricor Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Capricor Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Anthony Bergmann sold 24,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.38, for a total value of $732,158.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,954.74. The trade was a 68.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $759,158. Company insiders own 9.20% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Capricor Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Capricor Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA extended the PDUFA target action date for deramiocel by three months, to November 22, 2026, after Capricor submitted additional Phase 3 HOPE-3 data and analyses. The extension is not a rejection and gives the company more time to address FDA questions and support its proposed indication. Capricor FDA review extension
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer upgraded CAPR from “market perform” to “outperform,” citing increased optimism that deramiocel could ultimately receive approval. The upgrade provides some support after the stock’s substantial selloff. Oppenheimer upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported call-option volume was approximately 190% above typical levels, suggesting speculative bullish positioning, although options activity does not confirm a sustained recovery. Reported short-interest data showed zero shares and therefore offers no meaningful short-squeeze signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or promoted securities-fraud class actions covering investors who purchased CAPR shares from December 17, 2025, through July 26, 2026. The lawsuits allege that Capricor and executives made misleading statements or omissions regarding deramiocel’s approval pathway, statistical analysis plan, FDA compliance and clinical-data integrity; the lead-plaintiff deadline is September 28, 2026. Capricor securities class action
• Negative Sentiment: Reports tied the selloff to FDA briefing materials that allegedly revealed unagreed changes to the HOPE-3 statistical analysis plan and raised questions about data integrity. The company’s recent earnings call also reportedly omitted analyst Q&A, adding to investor uncertainty. Capricor data-integrity concerns

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montanova Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Capricor Therapeutics by 7.2% in the second quarter. Montanova Capital LLC now owns 4,092,784 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $98,554,000 after acquiring an additional 274,184 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,561,880 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $73,936,000 after purchasing an additional 355,161 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Capricor Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,533,000. Tang Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Capricor Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $49,062,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 2,261.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,528,478 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,806,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463,762 shares in the last quarter. 21.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Capricor Therapeutics Trading Up 15.9%

The firm has a market cap of $558.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.86 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.57 and its 200-day moving average is $24.61.

Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.70) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by ($0.11). Analysts forecast that Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Capricor Therapeutics Company Profile

Capricor Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of cell and exosome-based therapeutics for cardiovascular and rare diseases. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, the company leverages proprietary cardiosphere-derived cell (CDC) technology to address conditions characterized by inflammation, fibrosis, and tissue degeneration. Since its founding, Capricor has advanced its lead candidate through multiple clinical trials and has built a pipeline that spans both cell therapy and extracellular vesicle (exosome) platforms.

The company’s leading product candidate, CAP-1002, comprises allogeneic CDCs and is being evaluated in indications such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and COVID-19-related heart injury.