Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC) Stock Price Up 6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares of Celcuity jumped about 6% on Monday to roughly $128 (trading as high as $126.67 and last at $128.24) on unusually light volume of ~179,503 shares, down ~75% from the average.
• Analyst activity is mixed but generally positive: Citizens Jmp initiated coverage with a "market outperform" rating and a $150 target, Wolfe and Citigroup have "outperform" views, yet a few outlets (Weiss, Wall Street Zen) have sell calls; the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $114.33.
• Insiders have trimmed positions (Director David Dalvey sold 20,000 shares; Richard Buller sold 3,000), while large institutions (Avoro, NEA, State Street, UBS) have built sizable stakes—institutions now own about 63.33% of the stock and insiders own ~13.33%.

Shares of Celcuity, Inc. (NASDAQ:CELC - Get Free Report) were up 6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $126.67 and last traded at $128.2430. Approximately 179,503 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 724,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $121.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on CELC shares. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Celcuity in a research note on Monday. They issued a "market outperform" rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Celcuity in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Celcuity in a research report on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Celcuity in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Celcuity from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.33.

Celcuity Trading Up 1.4%

The firm has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of -32.37 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a current ratio of 10.55 and a quick ratio of 10.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $113.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.55.

Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported ($0.97) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.06) by $0.09. Analysts forecast that Celcuity, Inc. will post -3.97 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Dalvey sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 18.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard E. Buller sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.27, for a total value of $330,810.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,425.20. The trade was a 30.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 13.33% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celcuity

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CELC. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Celcuity in the 4th quarter worth approximately $310,302,000. NEA Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Celcuity by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 3,535,561 shares of the company's stock worth $352,637,000 after buying an additional 1,391,300 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Celcuity by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,637,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,343,000 after buying an additional 914,887 shares during the period. Apis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Celcuity during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,334,000. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Celcuity by 910.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 854,483 shares of the company's stock worth $42,211,000 after acquiring an additional 769,891 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.33% of the company's stock.

About Celcuity

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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