Needham & Company LLC Raises Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC) Price Target to $157.00

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC raised its price target on Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC) from $122 to $157 and kept a "buy" rating, implying about a 24.95% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst coverage is skewed positive—10 Buys, 1 Hold and 1 Sell—with a consensus target of $118.22; CELC opened at $125.65 and has a market cap of $6.07 billion, trading near its 12‑month high of $129.09.
• Institutional investors own 63.33% of the stock with large recent purchases by NEA, Avoro, Vanguard and State Street, while director Richard E. Buller sold 3,000 shares under a pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plan, reducing his holding by about 30.7%.

Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $122.00 to $157.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 24.95% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CELC. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Celcuity from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Celcuity from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Celcuity in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Celcuity in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Celcuity in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $118.22.

Celcuity Stock Performance

Shares of CELC stock opened at $125.65 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $114.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.64. The company has a quick ratio of 10.55, a current ratio of 10.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of -33.15 and a beta of 0.09. Celcuity has a 12 month low of $9.51 and a 12 month high of $129.09.

Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported ($0.97) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.06) by $0.09. Equities research analysts expect that Celcuity will post -3.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Celcuity

In other news, Director Richard E. Buller sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.27, for a total value of $330,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $745,425.20. This represents a 30.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 13.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NEA Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Celcuity by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 3,535,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $352,637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391,300 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Celcuity during the 4th quarter worth $310,302,000. Soleus Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Celcuity by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,011,818 shares of the company's stock worth $40,208,000 after buying an additional 437,696 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Celcuity by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,279,433 shares of the company's stock worth $227,351,000 after buying an additional 220,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Celcuity by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,637,687 shares of the company's stock worth $163,343,000 after buying an additional 914,887 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.33% of the company's stock.

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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