Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on Cidara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CDTX)

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has initiated coverage on Cidara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CDTX) with an "overweight" rating and a price target of $190.00, suggesting a potential upside of nearly 80%.
• HC Wainwright and other analysts have raised their price targets for Cidara Therapeutics, with a consensus target price now at $151.33 and a rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company's stock has seen significant fluctuations, with a recent 52-week range of $10.28 to $121.21 and a market cap of $2.68 billion.

Research analysts at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Cidara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CDTX - Get Free Report) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an "overweight" rating and a $190.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 79.89% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Cidara Therapeutics from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cidara Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. JMP Securities set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Cidara Therapeutics and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $137.00 price objective on shares of Cidara Therapeutics and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cidara Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cidara Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $151.33.

Cidara Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CDTX opened at $105.62 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $76.41 and its 200-day moving average is $47.98. Cidara Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $10.28 and a 52 week high of $121.21. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.49 and a beta of 1.33.

Cidara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CDTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.65) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.87) by $0.22. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cidara Therapeutics will post -8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cidara Therapeutics

In other news, insider Nicole Negar Davarpanah sold 474 shares of Cidara Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.86, for a total value of $29,795.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,418 shares in the company, valued at $1,974,935.48. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cidara Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Cidara Therapeutics by 66.8% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,556 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Cidara Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $22,544,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Cidara Therapeutics by 10,594.1% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,818 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801 shares in the last quarter. Bain Capital Life Sciences Investors LLC grew its stake in Cidara Therapeutics by 255.7% during the second quarter. Bain Capital Life Sciences Investors LLC now owns 2,500,680 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $121,808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Cidara Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,709,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.82% of the company's stock.

About Cidara Therapeutics

Cidara Therapeutics, Inc, a biotechnology company, focuses on developing targeted therapies for patients facing cancers and other serious diseases. The company's product includes rezafungin acetate, a novel molecule in the echinocandin class of antifungals for the treatment and prevention of invasive fungal infections, including candidemia and invasive candidiasis, which are fungal infections associated with high mortality rates.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.