Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) Trading Up 9.7% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAPR) were up 9.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $35.99 and last traded at $34.2350. Approximately 1,310,929 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 1,330,564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CAPR. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $58.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 13th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Capricor Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Capricor Therapeutics from $50.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.09.

Capricor Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.70 and a 200-day moving average of $20.47. The company has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of -15.36 and a beta of 0.48.

Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.62) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.11). As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Capricor Therapeutics news, CFO Anthony Bergmann sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.13, for a total value of $753,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,223 shares in the company, valued at $247,758.99. This represents a 75.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Karimah Es Sabar sold 7,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $240,928.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,529 shares in the company, valued at $240,928. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 147,529 shares of company stock valued at $4,509,940. 10.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Capricor Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Capricor Therapeutics by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,040 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. ACT Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Capricor Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Nuveen LLC boosted its position in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 90,951 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Capricor Therapeutics by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,429 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 1,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Capricor Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. 21.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Capricor Therapeutics

Capricor Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of cell and exosome-based therapeutics for cardiovascular and rare diseases. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, the company leverages proprietary cardiosphere-derived cell (CDC) technology to address conditions characterized by inflammation, fibrosis, and tissue degeneration. Since its founding, Capricor has advanced its lead candidate through multiple clinical trials and has built a pipeline that spans both cell therapy and extracellular vesicle (exosome) platforms.

The company’s leading product candidate, CAP-1002, comprises allogeneic CDCs and is being evaluated in indications such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and COVID-19-related heart injury.