Insider Selling: Artiva Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARTV) CEO Sells 61,696 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• CEO Fred Aslan sold 61,696 Artiva Biotherapeutics shares at an average price of $6.84, generating approximately $422,001. The sale covered tax-withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards and reduced his stake by 3.84% to 1,543,069 shares.
• Artiva shares rose 2.0% to $7.27, but remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $10.09 and $9.22, respectively. The stock has traded between $2.71 and $14.53 over the past year.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $39.00 average price target, despite one sell rating. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.63 per share, in line with estimates.

Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARTV - Get Free Report) CEO Fred Aslan sold 61,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.84, for a total transaction of $422,000.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,543,069 shares in the company, valued at $10,554,591.96. This represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The transaction 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.

Fred Aslan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 8th, Fred Aslan sold 23,429 shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.92, for a total transaction of $255,844.68.

Artiva Biotherapeutics Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ ARTV traded up $0.14 on Tuesday, hitting $7.27. 664,480 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 393,650. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $10.09 and a 200-day moving average of $9.22. The stock has a market cap of $355.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.20 and a beta of 2.40. Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2.71 and a 52 week high of $14.53.

Artiva Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.63) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.63). As a group, analysts predict that Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc. will post -2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artiva Biotherapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics during the second quarter valued at $45,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Artiva Biotherapeutics in the first quarter valued at $131,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Artiva Biotherapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $139,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Artiva Biotherapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $144,000. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Artiva Biotherapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $150,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics in a research note on Friday. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating on shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics in a report on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.00.

About Artiva Biotherapeutics

Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc NASDAQ: ARTV is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company's approach is designed to produce off-the-shelf cell therapies that can be manufactured at scale and administered without using cells collected from each individual patient.

Artiva's lead investigational product, AlloNK, also known as AB-101, is an allogeneic NK cell therapy being evaluated in combination with rituximab for autoimmune conditions, including systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis.

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