Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $48.2222.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim lowered shares of Rapt Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Rapt Therapeutics from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Lifesci Capital reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Rapt Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Leerink Partnrs raised Rapt Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised shares of Rapt Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Friday, September 26th.

Rapt Therapeutics News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Rapt Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: GSK agreed to acquire Rapt in a definitive deal valuing the company at about $2.2 billion (~$58.00 per share), providing a cash exit at a sizable premium to recent trading and directly causing the stock’s sharp rise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple outlets highlight that GSK gains a late?stage food allergy antibody (ozureprubart) from Rapt’s pipeline — a strategic fit that supports the acquisition rationale and the deal premium. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Rapt’s investors and prior backers benefit: Forbion confirms this is a successful exit from its Growth Fund III, which validates the deal’s value to venture/early investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have mostly left ratings and price targets around the announced deal price (Wells Fargo equal weight with $58 PT; Lifesci/TD Cowen hold), which implies limited near?term upside beyond the acquisition consideration. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms have announced investigations or shareholder class?action interest probing whether Rapt’s board negotiated a fair price, which could lead to litigation, procedural delays or settlement costs ahead of closing. Investors should monitor any formal complaints. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces and buy/analysis notes (e.g., Seeking Alpha, The Motley Fool) frame Rapt as an attractive biotech target highlighting its long?acting IgE candidate; useful context for strategic rationale but secondary to the binding deal terms. Article Title

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rapt Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boone Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rapt Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,180,000. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rapt Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $188,000. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Rapt Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,625,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Rapt Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,370,000. Finally, Velan Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Rapt Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,063,000. 99.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rapt Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Rapt Therapeutics stock opened at $57.57 on Wednesday. Rapt Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $5.67 and a 52-week high of $57.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.21 and a beta of 0.45.

Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.65) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by $0.23. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rapt Therapeutics will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Rapt Therapeutics

RAPT Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ:RAPT) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics for autoimmune and allergic diseases. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Diego, California, RAPT applies tissue-selective immunology to design small molecule and biologic candidates that modulate immune cell trafficking and tissue-resident pathways. The company’s research platform enables the identification of targets that drive tissue inflammation with the goal of achieving improved efficacy and safety profiles over current therapies.

The company’s lead asset, RPT193, is an orally available antagonist of the CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4), currently in clinical development for atopic dermatitis and allergic asthma.