Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) Cut to Hold at Lifesci Capital

Lifesci Capital downgraded shares of Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) from an outperform rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on RAPT. Piper Sandler lowered Rapt Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim lowered Rapt Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Rapt Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Rapt Therapeutics from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised shares of Rapt Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $16.00 to $37.00 in a report on Friday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.44.

Rapt Therapeutics Trading Up 0.1%

RAPT stock opened at $57.64 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.21 and a beta of 0.45. Rapt Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $5.67 and a 52 week high of $57.71.

Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by $0.23. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rapt Therapeutics will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rapt Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Rapt Therapeutics by 411.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 58,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 47,391 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rapt Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $188,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Rapt Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $231,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Rapt Therapeutics by 680.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 28,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $743,000 after acquiring an additional 25,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rapt Therapeutics by 32.0% during the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 20,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.09% of the company’s stock.

Rapt Therapeutics News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: GSK agreed to acquire Rapt for $58.00 in cash, valuing the deal at about $2.2 billion — this is the main positive driver behind the stock’s rally because it sets a definitive cash exit price that values RAPT well above prior levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo reaffirmed an Equal Weight rating on RAPT — this maintains a neutral broker view and does not materially change the takeout valuation dynamic. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple research firms cut or lowered ratings after the deal news (HC Wainwright downgraded to Neutral; Lifesci Capital lowered to Hold; Barclays cut to Equal Weight with a $58 target; Clear Street/others moved to Hold/Market Perform). Downgrades typically reduce near-term upside from additional analyst-driven buying. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: An investor class?action/representation firm (Kahn Swick & Foti) opened an investigation into whether the $58 per?share consideration and the sale process are adequate — this introduces legal/transactional scrutiny that could delay closing or generate litigation costs/settlement risk. Article Title

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.