Vanguard Group Inc. Has $227.35 Million Stake in Celcuity, Inc. $CELC

Key Points

• Vanguard increased its Celcuity stake by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 220,386 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 2.28 million shares worth about $227.35 million.
• Wall Street remains bullish on CELC, with several analysts raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.50.
• Insiders recently sold shares, including directors Richard E. Buller and David Dalvey, who made Rule 10b5-1 sales totaling 34,000 shares; the stock has also risen sharply, trading near its 52-week high.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Celcuity, Inc. (NASDAQ:CELC - Free Report) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,279,433 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 220,386 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 4.93% of Celcuity worth $227,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV bought a new position in Celcuity during the third quarter worth $27,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Celcuity by 25.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 706 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Celcuity by 78.9% during the 2nd 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. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Celcuity by 211.2% during the 2nd 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, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Celcuity by 611.2% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,593 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. 63.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CELC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Celcuity from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Celcuity from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Celcuity in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Celcuity in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Celcuity in a report on Monday, May 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.50.

Celcuity Stock Performance

Shares of Celcuity stock opened at $131.06 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.45. Celcuity, Inc. has a one year low of $9.51 and a one year high of $151.02. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.58 and a beta of 0.09.

Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported ($0.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.06) by $0.09. On average, research analysts anticipate that Celcuity, Inc. will post -3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Celcuity

In related news, Director Richard E. Buller sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.46, for a total transaction of $1,264,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $949,509.60. This represents a 57.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director David Dalvey sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total value of $3,517,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 65,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,144,200. The trade was a 27.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,000 shares of company stock worth $5,111,950. 13.33% of the stock is owned by 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.

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