Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• 52-week high: Celcuity shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $121.12 and last at $118.67 on Thursday with about 192,497 shares changing hands.
• Analyst consensus — Moderate Buy: Eight analysts rate the stock Buy (one Hold, one Sell) giving an average target of $109.88, which is below the current price, although firms like Wells Fargo ($126) and Stifel ($125) have higher targets.
• Institutional accumulation vs. insider selling: Institutional investors now own 63.33% after large purchases by Avoro, NEA, State Street and UBS, while directors recently sold shares (notably 20,000 and 3,000 shares), reducing insider ownership.

Celcuity, Inc. (NASDAQ:CELC - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $121.12 and last traded at $118.6740, with a volume of 192497 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $116.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CELC. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Celcuity in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $126.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Celcuity in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Celcuity in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Celcuity from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Celcuity from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.88.

Celcuity Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $109.91 and a 200-day moving average of $94.23. The company has a quick ratio of 10.55, a current ratio of 10.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.49 and a beta of 0.41.

Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported ($0.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.06) by $0.09. Equities analysts predict that Celcuity, Inc. will post -2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Celcuity

In related news, Director Richard E. Buller sold 3,000 shares of Celcuity stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.27, for a total value of $330,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $745,425.20. The trade was a 30.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director David Dalvey sold 20,000 shares of Celcuity stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $2,400,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 90,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,802,700. This represents a 18.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 15.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CELC. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Celcuity in the fourth quarter worth about $310,302,000. NEA Management Company LLC increased its position in Celcuity by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 3,535,561 shares of the company's stock worth $352,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,300 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Celcuity by 126.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,637,687 shares of the company's stock worth $163,343,000 after purchasing an additional 914,887 shares during the period. Apis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Celcuity in the third quarter worth about $38,334,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its position in Celcuity by 910.1% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 854,483 shares of the company's stock worth $42,211,000 after purchasing an additional 769,891 shares during the period. 63.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Celcuity Company Profile

Celcuity, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in precision oncology diagnostics. The company develops and commercializes predictive biomarker assays designed to identify which patients are most likely to benefit from targeted cancer therapies. By integrating functional profiling of tumor cells with molecular analyses, Celcuity seeks to optimize treatment selection and improve outcomes for patients with solid tumors.

Celcuity’s proprietary platform evaluates tumor cell sensitivity to various therapeutic agents using ex vivo assays that measure DNA damage response and other critical pathways.

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