Cartesian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RNAC) Trading 10.3% Higher - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares rose 10.3% to about $7.04 on Friday with volume surging ~132% to ~373,255 shares, well above the 161,140 average.
• Analysts are mixed but tilted bullish — five Buys versus one Sell, a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34 (individual targets range from $16 to $42), far above the current share price.
• Fundamentals remain early-stage: market cap ~$186.6M, negative P/E, and Q1 EPS missed at ($1.38) versus ($0.82) expected despite a revenue beat of $0.95M; institutional investors own ~86.95% of the stock.

Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNAC - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 10.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $7.24 and last traded at $7.04. Approximately 373,255 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 132% from the average daily volume of 161,140 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Cartesian Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cartesian Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $16.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Cartesian Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 27th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cartesian Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Cartesian Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.00.

Cartesian Therapeutics Stock Up 10.3%

The firm has a market cap of $186.63 million, a P/E ratio of -1.38 and a beta of 0.47. The firm's fifty day moving average is $6.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.49.

Cartesian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RNAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 9th. The company reported ($1.38) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by ($0.56). The business had revenue of $0.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.10 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Miller Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cartesian Therapeutics by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Miller Financial Services LLC now owns 13,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Cartesian Therapeutics by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,924 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,717 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Cartesian Therapeutics by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Cartesian Therapeutics by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 11,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 3,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Cartesian Therapeutics by 133.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 7,952 shares during the last quarter. 86.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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