Cue Biopharma (NASDAQ:CUE) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at B. Riley Financial

Key Points

• B. Riley Financial initiated coverage of Cue Biopharma with a Buy rating and an $83 price target, implying approximately 119% upside from the reported $37.84 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: two analysts rate the stock Buy and one rates it Sell, resulting in a consensus Hold rating with an $83 target price.
• Cue Biopharma reported a substantial quarterly EPS miss, losing $24.14 per share versus the $1.69 consensus estimate, despite revenue of $7.88 million exceeding estimates.

Research analysts at B. Riley Financial initiated coverage on shares of Cue Biopharma (NASDAQ:CUE - Get Free Report) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley Financial's price target would indicate a potential upside of 119.34% from the stock's current price.

CUE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cue Biopharma from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cue Biopharma from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, B Riley began coverage on shares of Cue Biopharma in a research note on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cue Biopharma has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.00.

Cue Biopharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ CUE opened at $37.84 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.96. Cue Biopharma has a one year low of $4.97 and a one year high of $45.50. The company has a market cap of $274.72 million, a P/E ratio of -1.40 and a beta of 2.45.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cue Biopharma

In other news, VP Michael Vincent Meluzio sold 5,628 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.09, for a total value of $169,346.52. Following 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Sumita Ray sold 8,829 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.09, for a total value of $265,664.61. Following the transaction, the insider owned 118,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,567,019.05. This represents a 6.93% 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 72,715 shares of company stock worth $2,041,555 over the last quarter. 14.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CUE. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Cue Biopharma during the second quarter valued at about $83,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Cue Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Cue Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $338,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cue Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $389,000. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc acquired a new stake in Cue Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $722,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.04% of the company's stock.

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.

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