Candel Therapeutics’ (CADL) Buy Rating Reiterated at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Candel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CADL) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $23.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Candel Therapeutics’ FY2028 earnings at $0.69 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $1.41 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on CADL. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Candel Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Candel Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Candel Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Candel Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Candel Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Candel Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.29.

Candel Therapeutics Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ CADL opened at $11.72 on Thursday. Candel Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $4.35 and a 52 week high of $11.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 28.05 and a current ratio of 28.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $858.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.31 and a beta of -0.51.

Candel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CADL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.52) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.28). As a group, analysts anticipate that Candel Therapeutics will post -1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Francesca Barone sold 23,447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.06, for a total value of $235,876.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,261.72. This trade represents a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Seshu Tyagarajan sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.02, for a total transaction of $70,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 83,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $840,327.30. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 14.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Candel Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CADL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Candel Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Candel Therapeutics by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,007,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,236,000 after purchasing an additional 219,563 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Candel Therapeutics by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 977,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,524,000 after purchasing an additional 49,315 shares during the period. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Candel Therapeutics by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 904,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,430,000 after purchasing an additional 155,996 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Candel Therapeutics by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 792,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,476,000 after purchasing an additional 103,452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.93% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Candel Therapeutics

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

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright reaffirmed its Buy rating and $23 price target, implying substantial potential upside from recent trading levels. The firm’s outlook reflects expectations for future earnings growth and progress in Candel’s pipeline. HC Wainwright reaffirms Buy rating and price target
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted “meaningful execution” toward a biologics license application (BLA) submission in the fourth quarter. Candel is targeting its first commercial product in 2027, making regulatory progress a key catalyst for the stock. CADL rises as biotech targets 2027 commercial launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target from $9 to $12 but maintained a Neutral rating. The revised target is close to the recent share price, suggesting the analyst sees limited near-term upside despite the higher valuation estimate. Bank of America raises CADL price target
• Negative Sentiment: Candel reported a second-quarter loss of $0.52 per share, substantially worse than the $0.27 consensus estimate. The earnings miss highlights continued cash-burn and execution risk for the clinical-stage biotechnology company. Candel second-quarter earnings release
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright modestly reduced its FY2028 and FY2029 EPS estimates to $0.69 and $1.41, respectively. Although the firm retained its Buy rating and $23 target, the estimate cuts indicate slightly lower expectations for Candel’s long-term profitability.

About Candel Therapeutics

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.