Cartesian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RNAC) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Cartesian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RNAC) in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $41.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on RNAC. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cartesian Therapeutics to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on Cartesian Therapeutics from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Cartesian Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cartesian Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.33.

Cartesian Therapeutics Stock Performance

RNAC opened at $20.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $510.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.38 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.88 and its 200 day moving average is $19.73. Cartesian Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $11.66 and a fifty-two week high of $41.87.

Insider Activity

In other Cartesian Therapeutics news, CTO Metin Kurtoglu sold 32,789 shares of Cartesian Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.67, for a total value of $546,592.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 51,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $850,720.11. This trade represents a 39.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Timothy A. Springer bought 80,301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.58 per share, for a total transaction of $1,813,196.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,023,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $181,176,636.28. This represents a 1.01 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 128,089 shares of company stock worth $2,169,555. 57.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RNAC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Cartesian Therapeutics by 122.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Cartesian Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Cartesian Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $49,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Cartesian Therapeutics by 208.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 7,849 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Cartesian Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $351,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.95% of the company’s stock.

Cartesian Therapeutics Company Profile

Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the provision of mRNA cell therapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. It develops Descartes-08, an autologous anti-BCMA RNA-engineered chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, currently under Phase 2b clinical development for generalized myasthenia gravis, as well as for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, and myeloma autoimmune basket trials for other autoimmune diseases.