Leerink Partners Issues Positive Forecast for Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CLDX) Stock Price

Key Points

• Leerink Partners raised Celldex Therapeutics’ price target to $88 from $70 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying 162.6% upside from the stock’s previous close.
• Other analysts have also raised their targets, with the consensus rating at “Moderate Buy” and the average price target at $61.92. However, shares opened at $33.51 after falling 11.6%.
• Celldex reported quarterly EPS of $(0.94), beating estimates of $(1.06), while revenue significantly missed expectations. Institutional investors, including Wellington Management and Dimensional Fund Advisors, recently increased their positions.

Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CLDX - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by analysts at Leerink Partners from $70.00 to $88.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Leerink Partners' price target would suggest a potential upside of 162.61% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Celldex Therapeutics from $42.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Celldex Therapeutics from $48.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Celldex Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Celldex Therapeutics from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $68.00 price target on Celldex Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.92.

Celldex Therapeutics Trading Down 11.6%

Shares of CLDX opened at $33.51 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $39.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of -7.70 and a beta of 0.84. Celldex Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $22.10 and a twelve month high of $45.14.

Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CLDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.94) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.06) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $0.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.73 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Celldex Therapeutics will post -4.17 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Celldex Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CLDX. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Celldex Therapeutics by 11.5% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,543,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $355,120,000 after acquiring an additional 983,195 shares during the period. Commodore Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Celldex Therapeutics by 5.1% in the first quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 2,696,616 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $85,537,000 after buying an additional 131,616 shares during the period. Eversept Partners LP boosted its stake in Celldex Therapeutics by 24.6% during the first quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 1,788,016 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $56,716,000 after buying an additional 353,291 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Celldex Therapeutics by 62.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,059,534 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,596,000 after acquiring an additional 407,818 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Celldex Therapeutics by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 937,158 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $25,453,000 after acquiring an additional 10,001 shares during the last quarter.

More Celldex Therapeutics News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barzolvolimab met the primary and all key secondary endpoints in both Phase 3 EMBARQ-CSU1 and EMBARQ-CSU2 trials for chronic spontaneous urticaria. Celldex reported statistically significant improvements in urticaria activity, including benefits among patients who failed omalizumab and those with severe disease or angioedema. The company said efficacy continued to improve through 24 weeks and plans to submit a biologics license application in 2027. Celldex Phase 3 results announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts became more bullish following the readout. Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $57 from $50 and assigned an overweight rating; HC Wainwright lifted its target to $64 and maintained a buy rating; and Cantor Fitzgerald increased its target to $72 with an overweight rating. These targets imply substantial upside from the reference price. Celldex analyst and financial outlook coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: The trials will continue through 52 weeks, leaving investors focused on longer-term durability, final safety data and the timing of regulatory filing before barzolvolimab can generate commercial revenue. Reuters report on Celldex trial results
• Negative Sentiment: Shares sold off after the announcement even though the results were positive. Reports cited safety concerns and possible profit-taking after expectations had become very high ahead of the catalyst. Investors may also be concerned about Celldex’s heavy cash-burn rate and continued losses while it funds development. Economic Times report on Celldex safety concerns

About Celldex Therapeutics

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing antibody-based therapeutics for diseases with significant unmet medical needs. The company's research programs address conditions in immunology, inflammation, oncology and other areas where targeted immune-system modulation may provide therapeutic benefits.

Celldex's lead investigational product is barzolvolimab, an antibody designed to block the KIT receptor and reduce mast cells. The therapy is being studied in immune-mediated diseases, including chronic spontaneous urticaria and prurigo nodularis.

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