Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) Stock Price Down 5.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell 5.1% to $2.155 on Tuesday (intraday low $2.15) with 396,364 shares traded, roughly 52% below the average daily volume of 821,074.
• Analyst sentiment has turned negative—multiple downgrades and price-target cuts (Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Wells Fargo to $2.50) have left a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a $3.00 target.
• Insiders have been buying (95,000 shares bought in the last three months, including CFO and a director), while institutions own about 89.5% of the stock; the company has a market cap of ~$302M and a negative P/E (-0.62).

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CMTG - Get Free Report) traded down 5.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $2.15 and last traded at $2.1550. 396,364 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 821,074 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CMTG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $3.00 to $2.50 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Claros Mortgage Trust from $3.00 to $2.50 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $3.00.

Claros Mortgage Trust Stock Down 5.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 21.44 and a current ratio of 21.44. The firm has a market cap of $302.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.62 and a beta of 1.21. The business's 50 day moving average price is $2.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Mike Mcgillis bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $2.34 per share, with a total value of $46,800.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 603,007 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,036.38. The trade was a 3.43% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director W Edward Walter bought 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $2.28 per share, for a total transaction of $57,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,960. This trade represents a 357.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 95,000 shares of company stock valued at $224,300. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Claros Mortgage Trust by 53.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805,395 shares of the company's stock worth $5,994,000 after buying an additional 632,105 shares during the last quarter. LM Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Claros Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,634,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,621,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,083,000 after acquiring an additional 383,859 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 22.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,946,597 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,548,000 after acquiring an additional 362,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its position in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 880.8% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 383,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 344,566 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Claros Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Claros Mortgage Trust is a specialty finance company structured as a real estate investment trust that acquires and manages a portfolio of newly originated, conventional residential mortgage loans guaranteed or insured by U.S. government‐sponsored enterprises. The company concentrates on Agency collateral, including loans backed by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, aiming to generate current income while preserving capital through high‐quality, credit‐enhanced assets.

Under an external management agreement with Claros Mortgage Capital Advisors LLC, the firm leverages a seasoned team to source, underwrite and service mortgage assets.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.