Candel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CADL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Candel Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CADL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $13.95 and last traded at $13.60, with a volume of 1342527 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CADL shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Candel Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Candel Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Candel Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Candel Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Candel Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.29.

Candel Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.65 and a beta of -0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.30 and a 200 day moving average of $7.75. The company has a current ratio of 16.09, a quick ratio of 16.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Candel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CADL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.52) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.28). On average, sell-side analysts predict that Candel Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Candel Therapeutics

In related news, insider Francesca Barone sold 23,447 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.06, for a total value of $235,876.82. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,362 shares in the company, valued at $778,261.72. This trade represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Seshu Tyagarajan sold 7,000 shares of Candel Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 76,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,380. The trade was a 8.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,447 shares of company stock valued at $390,017. Corporate insiders own 14.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CADL. Invesco Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Candel Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $59,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Candel Therapeutics by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4,583 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Candel Therapeutics by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 33,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 7,030 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Candel Therapeutics by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 903,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,575,000 after acquiring an additional 216,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Candel Therapeutics by 36.9% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 5,270 shares in the last quarter. 13.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Candel Therapeutics Company Profile

Candel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CADL) is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on the development of next-generation oncolytic viral therapies designed to treat solid tumors. The company’s lead candidate, CAN-2409, is a locally administered, gene-delivered viral therapy engineered to selectively replicate in cancer cells and induce immunogenic cell death. Candel leverages proprietary virus engineering platforms to enhance tumor-specific replication and stimulate anti-tumor immune responses, aiming to improve outcomes for patients with high unmet medical needs.

In addition to its lead program, Candel’s pipeline includes CAN-3110, an oncolytic herpes simplex virus targeting recurrent high-grade glioma, and other novel viral constructs being explored for a variety of solid tumor indications.