BlackRock Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Cue Biopharma, Inc. $CUE

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 57,807 Cue Biopharma shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.82 million and representing about 1.38% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 35.04% of CUE.
• Insiders sold 72,715 shares worth roughly $2.04 million over the past three months, including sales by CEO Shao-Lee Lin and insider Sumita Ray to cover tax obligations related to vested equity awards.
• Analyst sentiment remains negative, with Cue Biopharma carrying a consensus “Sell” rating. The company also reported a quarterly loss of $24.14 per share, far below the $1.69 consensus estimate, despite revenue of $7.88 million exceeding expectations.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Cue Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CUE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 57,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,824,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 1.38% of Cue Biopharma as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Cue Biopharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $389,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Cue Biopharma by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 246,556 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Cue Biopharma by 730.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 83,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 73,000 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Cue Biopharma in the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Cue Biopharma by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 704,297 shares of the company's stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 93,333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Cue Biopharma

In other news, insider Sumita Ray sold 8,829 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.09, for a total value of $265,664.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 118,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,567,019.05. This represents a 6.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Shao-Lee Lin sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.10, for a total transaction of $1,084,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 724,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,627,256.30. This represents a 5.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 72,715 shares of company stock worth $2,041,555 over the last three months. Company insiders own 14.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CUE shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Cue Biopharma from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cue Biopharma from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Cue Biopharma currently has a consensus rating of "Sell".

Cue Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of Cue Biopharma stock opened at $27.44 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $199.21 million, a PE ratio of -1.02 and a beta of 2.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.34. Cue Biopharma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.97 and a fifty-two week high of $45.50.

Cue Biopharma (NASDAQ:CUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The company reported ($24.14) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.69) by ($22.45). Cue Biopharma had a negative net margin of 435.83% and a negative return on equity of 620.06%. The company had revenue of $7.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.00 million.

Cue Biopharma Company Profile

Cue Biopharma is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company focused on the development of next‐generation immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases. The company's proprietary platform, known as Cytokine Release & Targeting (CRT), is designed to deliver cytokine payloads directly to antigen‐specific T cells in order to enhance immune responses within targeted tissues. This approach aims to improve the therapeutic index of cytokine treatments by limiting systemic exposure and potentiating localized immune activation.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cue Biopharma has advanced multiple lead programs into early‐stage clinical studies.

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