Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNAC) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a mixed view of Cartesian Therapeutics: Two rate the stock “sell” and five rate it “buy,” resulting in an average “hold” recommendation and an average 12-month price target of $32.60.
• RNAC recently traded at $7.41, well below analysts’ targets, while its latest quarterly results missed expectations with an adjusted loss of $1.46 per share versus the estimated $0.84 loss.
• Institutional ownership is high at 86.95%: Several hedge funds increased their positions during the fourth quarter, including Millennium Management and Marshall Wace.

Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNAC - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.60.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RNAC. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Cartesian Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cartesian Therapeutics from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Cartesian Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on Cartesian Therapeutics from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Cartesian Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th.

Cartesian Therapeutics Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:RNAC traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $7.41. 6,948 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 221,090. Cartesian Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $5.60 and a fifty-two week high of $13.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.82 million, a P/E ratio of -1.25 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.52.

Cartesian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RNAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.84) by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $0.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.22 million. As a group, analysts expect that Cartesian Therapeutics will post -4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cartesian Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Privium Fund Management B.V. bought a new stake in Cartesian Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $1,244,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Cartesian Therapeutics by 548.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 164,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 139,009 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Cartesian Therapeutics by 110.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 178,140 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 93,334 shares during the period. 683 Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cartesian Therapeutics by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC now owns 280,000 shares of the company's stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cartesian Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $316,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.95% of the company's stock.

About Cartesian Therapeutics

Cartesian Therapeutics, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol RNAC, is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company specializing in the development of messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapeutics. The company leverages a proprietary RNA delivery platform to induce the production of therapeutic proteins within patients, aiming to address a range of diseases through in vivo expression of disease-modifying agents. Cartesian's technology is designed to optimize mRNA stability, translation efficiency and targeted delivery, with potential applications spanning oncology, autoimmune disorders and rare genetic conditions.

At the core of Cartesian's approach is a synthetic mRNA platform that incorporates proprietary lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations.

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