Avoro Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Celcuity, Inc. $CELC

Key Points

• Avoro Capital Advisors disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Celcuity, buying 3.11 million shares valued at about $310.3 million. The position represents roughly 6.72% of Celcuity and about 3% of Avoro’s portfolio.
• Celcuity has attracted significant institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors owning 63.33% of the stock. Several firms also increased or initiated positions in the company during recent quarters.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive: 11 analysts rate the stock Buy, one rates it Sell, and the consensus target is $152.09. The company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting ($0.97) versus expected ($1.07).

Avoro Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Celcuity, Inc. (NASDAQ:CELC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,111,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $310,302,000. Celcuity comprises about 3.0% of Avoro Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC owned 6.72% of Celcuity at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CELC. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Celcuity in the second quarter worth approximately $177,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Celcuity by 1.2% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 42,697 shares of the company's stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Celcuity in the second quarter worth approximately $169,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Celcuity by 20.7% in the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 243,042 shares of the company's stock worth $3,245,000 after buying an additional 41,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its holdings in shares of Celcuity by 285.8% in the second quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 82,137 shares of the company's stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 60,849 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Macquarie Infrastructure set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Celcuity in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Celcuity from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Celcuity in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Celcuity from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Craig Hallum dropped their price objective on shares of Celcuity from $189.00 to $171.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $152.09.

Celcuity Price Performance

NASDAQ CELC opened at $87.32 on Wednesday. Celcuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.27 and a 12 month high of $151.02. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.39 and a beta of 0.10. The company's 50 day moving average is $118.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.13. The company has a current ratio of 12.31, a quick ratio of 12.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.04.

Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.97) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.10. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Celcuity, Inc. will post -3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Celcuity news, Director Richard E. Buller sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.46, for a total transaction of $1,264,140.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $949,509.60. This trade represents a 57.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director David Dalvey sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total transaction of $3,517,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 65,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,144,200. The trade was a 27.78% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,000 shares of company stock worth $5,111,950. 13.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CELC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Celcuity, Inc. (NASDAQ:CELC - Free Report).

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.