HC Wainwright Reiterates "Buy" Rating for Palisade Bio (NASDAQ:PALI)

Key Points

• HC Wainwright reiterated its “Buy” rating on Palisade Bio and set a $7.00 price target, implying 314.2% upside from the stock’s $1.69 price. Analysts overall rate the stock “Buy,” with an average target of $9.83.
• Palisade Bio reported quarterly EPS of negative $0.05 and revenue of $0.50 million, both in line with analyst expectations. Analysts forecast a full-year loss of approximately $0.23 per share.
• Insiders sold shares to cover tax obligations related to equity awards, while institutional ownership stands at 11.79%. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is developing LB1148, an oral therapy targeting intestinal inflammation and postoperative complications.

Palisade Bio (NASDAQ:PALI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $7.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright's price objective indicates a potential upside of 314.20% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Palisade Bio in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Palisade Bio to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Palisade Bio from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Palisade Bio from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palisade Bio presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $9.83.

Palisade Bio Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PALI opened at $1.69 on Wednesday. Palisade Bio has a 12-month low of $0.62 and a 12-month high of $2.85. The company has a market cap of $294.52 million, a P/E ratio of -3.52 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $2.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.97.

Palisade Bio (NASDAQ:PALI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05). The company had revenue of $0.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.50 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Palisade Bio will post -0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palisade Bio news, insider Mitchell Jones sold 51,880 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total transaction of $106,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 94,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at $192,718.45. This trade represents a 35.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO John Finley sold 146,798 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.07, for a total transaction of $303,871.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 217,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $450,338.85. This trade represents a 40.29% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 125,000 shares of company stock worth $250,100. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palisade Bio

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Octagon Capital Advisors LP raised its stake in Palisade Bio by 7.4% during the first quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 10,276,317 shares of the company's stock worth $17,984,000 after acquiring an additional 708,419 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Palisade Bio by 27.5% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,703,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,741,000 after purchasing an additional 799,025 shares during the last quarter. Commodore Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Palisade Bio during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,896,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palisade Bio during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $22,394,000. Finally, Artia Global Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Palisade Bio in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,682,000. 11.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Palisade Bio

Palisade Bio, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for gastrointestinal diseases and conditions associated with intestinal inflammation, impaired gut-barrier function and complications following surgery.

The company's lead product candidate is LB1148, an orally administered, non-absorbed pan-serine protease inhibitor. Palisade Bio is evaluating LB1148 for its potential to limit the harmful effects of digestive enzymes, reduce inflammation and support intestinal healing during the postoperative period.

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