Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) Shares Up 7.1% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 7.1% to about $33.12 on Monday on light trading volume (264,654 shares vs. ~1.27M average), with the 50‑day and 200‑day moving averages at $31.11 and $22.76 respectively.
• Strong analyst optimism: several firms boosted price targets (B. Riley $63, Cantor Fitzgerald $62, Piper Sandler $58, HC Wainwright $60), with 9 buys and 1 sell leaving a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $46.09.
• Mixed fundamentals and insider activity: the company missed quarterly EPS estimates (reported -$0.62 vs. -$0.51 expected) and remains unprofitable (P/E -14.82), while insiders sold ~172,529 shares (~$5.3M) in the past 90 days even as institutions (notably Goldman Sachs) increased stakes.

Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAPR - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 7.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $33.14 and last traded at $33.1150. 264,654 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,265,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAPR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on shares of Capricor Therapeutics from $50.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Capricor Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $62.00 price objective on Capricor Therapeutics and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $58.00 target price (up from $45.00) on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.09.

Capricor Therapeutics Stock Up 8.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.82 and a beta of 0.48. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $31.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.76.

Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.62) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.11). As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. will post 0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Capricor Therapeutics news, Director Karimah Es Sabar sold 61,265 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.17, for a total transaction of $1,848,365.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Anthony Bergmann sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.13, for a total value of $753,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at $247,758.99. This represents a 75.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 172,529 shares of company stock worth $5,302,440. Corporate insiders own 9.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Capricor Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAPR. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 39.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 411,141 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 116,373 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 8.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 41,273 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 3,205 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 53,450 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 3,636 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Capricor Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $796,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in Capricor Therapeutics by 42.6% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 232,536 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,309,000 after buying an additional 69,515 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.68% of the company's stock.

About Capricor Therapeutics

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.

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