Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) Short Interest Update

Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,653,267 shares, an increase of 80.5% from the December 15th total of 916,065 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 427,259 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 427,259 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Currently, 6.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RAPT has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim started coverage on Rapt Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners upgraded Rapt Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $37.00 in a report on Friday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $72.00 target price on Rapt Therapeutics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Leerink Partnrs raised Rapt Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Rapt Therapeutics from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rapt Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.44.

Rapt Therapeutics Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:RAPT traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $34.23. 10,308 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 262,438. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.72. The firm has a market cap of $948.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 0.45. Rapt Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $5.67 and a fifty-two week high of $42.39.

Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.65) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by $0.23. Research analysts predict that Rapt Therapeutics will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rapt Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RAPT. Boone Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rapt Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,180,000. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Rapt Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $188,000. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in Rapt Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,625,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. acquired a new position in Rapt Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,370,000. Finally, Velan Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Rapt Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,063,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.09% of the company’s stock.

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.