Celcuity, Inc. (NASDAQ:CELC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Celcuity, Inc. (NASDAQ:CELC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,710,000 shares, agrowthof52.4% from the July 31st total of 3,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CELC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Celcuity from $74.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Celcuity in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of Celcuity from $28.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Celcuity from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celcuity

In other news, Director David Dalvey sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.98, for a total value of $4,398,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 125,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,497,500. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 15.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Celcuity

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Celcuity by 1,237.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Celcuity by 78.9% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Celcuity by 211.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Celcuity by 176.3% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. acquired a new stake in Celcuity during the first quarter valued at approximately $108,000. 63.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celcuity Stock Performance

Celcuity stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.01. 120,936 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 604,848. The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.27. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.98 and a beta of 0.72. Celcuity has a fifty-two week low of $7.57 and a fifty-two week high of $63.06.

Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($1.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.14). On average, equities research analysts forecast that Celcuity will post -2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

About Celcuity

Celcuity Inc, a clinical stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development of targeted therapies for the treatment of various solid tumors in the United States. The company's CELsignia diagnostic platform uses a patient's living tumor cells to identify the specific abnormal cellular process driving a patient's cancer and the related targeted therapy for the treatment.