Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Celcuity, Inc. (NASDAQ:CELC) reached a new 52-week high during trading, hitting $53.40 and closing at $52.37, showing significant investor interest with a trading volume of 978,279 shares.
• A number of analysts rated Celcuity positively, boosting price targets significantly; HC Wainwright assigned a target of $50.00, while Leerink Partners set a target of $60.00, reflecting strong market confidence.
• Insider trading was notable as Director David Dalvey sold 100,000 shares valued at approximately $4.4 million, indicating a substantial decrease in his ownership percentage.

Celcuity, Inc. (NASDAQ:CELC - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $53.40 and last traded at $52.37, with a volume of 978279 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Celcuity in a research report on Monday. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Celcuity from $28.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Celcuity in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Celcuity from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $50.60.

Celcuity Trading Down 3.1%

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $22.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.81. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of -14.55 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 6.61 and a quick ratio of 6.61.

Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($1.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.14). On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Celcuity, Inc. will post -2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Celcuity news, Director David Dalvey sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.98, for a total value of $4,398,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 125,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,497,500. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 15.78% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Celcuity

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Celcuity by 78.9% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,647 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Celcuity by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,421 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celcuity in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Celcuity by 211.2% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,549 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 3,766 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Celcuity by 176.3% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,087 shares of the company's stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4,522 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.33% of the company's stock.

About Celcuity

Celcuity Inc, a clinical stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development of targeted therapies for the treatment of various solid tumors in the United States. The company's CELsignia diagnostic platform uses a patient's living tumor cells to identify the specific abnormal cellular process driving a patient's cancer and the related targeted therapy for the treatment.