Artiva Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARTV) Stock Gets Downgrade from Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham downgraded Artiva Biotherapeutics from “buy” to “hold.” The broader analyst consensus is also “hold,” with an average price target of $30, despite mixed ratings ranging from sell to strong buy.
• Artiva shares fell $1.96 to $4.21 on Tuesday, with trading volume far above average. The stock remains well below its 12-month high of $14.53 and has a market capitalization of about $205.6 million.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.63 per share, in line with estimates, while analysts expect a full-year loss of $2.62 per share. Its lead candidate, AlloNK, is an experimental off-the-shelf natural killer cell therapy being tested for cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Artiva Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARTV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on ARTV. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.00.

Artiva Biotherapeutics Stock Performance

ARTV traded down $1.96 on Tuesday, hitting $4.21. 4,586,429 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 414,274. Artiva Biotherapeutics has a 12 month low of $2.96 and a 12 month high of $14.53. The company has a market cap of $205.58 million, a PE ratio of -1.26 and a beta of 2.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $8.80 and its 200-day moving average is $7.96.

Artiva Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARTV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.63) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.63). As a group, equities research analysts expect that Artiva Biotherapeutics will post -2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Artiva Biotherapeutics

In related news, insider Christopher Horan sold 10,340 shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.84, for a total transaction of $70,725.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 312,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,139,168.96. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Jennifer Bush sold 8,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.84, for a total transaction of $57,250.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 366,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,504,527.56. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 137,048 shares of company stock worth $1,086,167 in the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artiva Biotherapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $144,000. Spark Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics in the second quarter worth $160,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics in the first quarter worth $131,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Artiva Biotherapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $139,000.

Artiva Biotherapeutics Company Profile

Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing off-the-shelf, allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company's approach is intended to provide readily available cell-based treatments that can be manufactured in advance and administered without using each patient's own cells.

Artiva's lead product candidate is AlloNK, also known as AB-101, an allogeneic NK cell therapy derived from umbilical cord blood. The company is evaluating AlloNK in combination with antibody treatments, including rituximab, for conditions such as B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases.

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