HC Wainwright Brokers Lift Earnings Estimates for Nuvalent

Key Points

• HC Wainwright raised Nuvalent's Q1–Q4 2026 EPS estimates (Q1 from ($1.53) to ($1.26)) and kept a Buy rating with a $155 price target, signaling a view of smaller near‑term losses.
• The firm also lifted multi‑year forecasts to show a pathway to profitability (FY2028 EPS to $2.11 and FY2030 to $2.59) but cut some intermediate-year estimates and still models a FY2026 loss (-$4.57) larger than consensus (-$3.86).
• Insider activity and ownership: the CEO sold 17,890 shares (part of 76,463 shares sold by insiders worth $7.72M in the last 90 days), insiders own 10.2% of stock, and institutional investors hold about 97.3% of shares.

Nuvalent, Inc. (NASDAQ:NUVL - Free Report) - Equities researchers at HC Wainwright upped their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for Nuvalent in a research report issued on Monday, March 2nd. HC Wainwright analyst S. Ramakanth now expects that the company will post earnings per share of ($1.26) for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of ($1.53). HC Wainwright currently has a "Buy" rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Nuvalent's current full-year earnings is ($3.86) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Nuvalent's Q2 2026 earnings at ($1.21) EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at ($1.16) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.94) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($4.57) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($2.06) EPS, FY2028 earnings at $2.11 EPS and FY2030 earnings at $2.59 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Nuvalent from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Nuvalent in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Nuvalent from $147.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Barclays set a $152.00 price target on shares of Nuvalent in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Nuvalent in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.67.

Nuvalent Stock Up 2.4%

NUVL stock opened at $102.67 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $103.25 and a 200 day moving average of $95.69. The firm has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of -17.55 and a beta of 1.32. Nuvalent has a twelve month low of $55.53 and a twelve month high of $113.01.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Richard Porter sold 17,890 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.32, for a total transaction of $1,741,054.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 288,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,044,899.04. The trade was a 5.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher Durant Turner sold 4,236 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.32, for a total value of $412,247.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,674,826.52. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 76,463 shares of company stock valued at $7,722,489 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Nuvalent

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Nuvalent in the fourth quarter worth about $1,268,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Nuvalent by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,319,963 shares of the company's stock worth $132,776,000 after acquiring an additional 298,727 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Nuvalent by 1,201.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 439,300 shares of the company's stock worth $44,189,000 after acquiring an additional 405,543 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Nuvalent during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,559,000. Finally, Ikarian Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nuvalent during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,995,000. Institutional investors own 97.26% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Nuvalent

Here are the key news stories impacting Nuvalent this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised Q1–Q4 2026 and FY2026 EPS estimates (Q1: from ($1.53) to $1.26); Q2: ($1.48 to $1.21); Q3: ($1.43 to $1.16); Q4: ($1.19 to ($0.94); FY2026: ($5.62) to ($4.57)) — the firm is modeling smaller near-term losses, which supports a more constructive valuation outlook. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright increased multi‑year earnings power: FY2028 was raised to $2.11 (from $1.75) and FY2030 is modeled at $2.59 — this improves the long‑term pathway to profitability that investors prize for growth biotech stocks. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: The analyst maintained a Buy rating and a $155 price target — a clear signal of continued analyst conviction that likely supports buying interest. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate/market context: Nuvalent remains a loss‑making biotech by GAAP (negative P/E), with a market cap around $7.5B and shares trading nearer recent highs — volatility and binary clinical/regulatory outcomes remain key risk drivers beyond model revisions. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut FY2027 and FY2029 estimates (FY2027 from ($1.69) to ($2.06); FY2029 from $6.77 to $6.52) — some intermediate-year assumptions were weakened, which could temper upside if management or pipeline progress lags these timelines. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upgrades, HC Wainwright's FY2026 loss projection (-$4.57) remains more negative than the consensus (-$3.86) — differing views on near-term execution or commercial ramp risks could keep volatility elevated. Read More.

Nuvalent Company Profile

Nuvalent, Inc NASDAQ: NUVL is a clinical-stage precision oncology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted therapies for patients with genetically defined cancers. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in San Diego, California, Nuvalent applies structure-guided drug design to develop small molecule inhibitors that address key oncogenic drivers. The company's research platform integrates insights from cancer biology, medicinal chemistry and translational science to create therapies with differentiated selectivity and potency against validated targets.

Nuvalent's lead pipeline candidates include NVL-520, a highly selective RET inhibitor designed to minimize off-target effects, and NVL-655, a potent covalent inhibitor targeting KRAS G12D mutations.

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