Cantor Fitzgerald Upgrades Cartesian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RNAC) to Overweight

Cartesian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RNAC) was upgraded by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Monday. The brokerage currently has a $16.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price suggests a potential upside of 115.63% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on RNAC. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Cartesian Therapeutics from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. BTIG Research increased their target price on Cartesian Therapeutics from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Cartesian Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright cut their price target on Cartesian Therapeutics from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cartesian Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Cartesian Therapeutics Stock Up 8.3%

Shares of NASDAQ RNAC traded up $0.57 during trading on Monday, reaching $7.42. 1,989,480 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 167,802. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.18. Cartesian Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $5.98 and a 52-week high of $18.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.92 million, a PE ratio of -4.76 and a beta of 0.41.

Cartesian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RNAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($3.57) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($2.75). The company had revenue of $0.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.10 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Cartesian Therapeutics will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Blaine Davis sold 10,591 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.82, for a total value of $72,230.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 121,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $826,720.40. This represents a 8.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 60.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cartesian Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RNAC. Privium Fund Management B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Cartesian Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $1,244,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Cartesian Therapeutics by 548.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 164,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after buying an additional 139,009 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Cartesian Therapeutics by 110.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 178,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,284,000 after acquiring an additional 93,334 shares during the period. 683 Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cartesian Therapeutics by 46.0% in the second quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC now owns 219,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after acquiring an additional 69,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Cartesian Therapeutics by 106.9% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 86,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 44,493 shares during the period. 86.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cartesian Therapeutics

Cartesian Therapeutics, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol RNAC, is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company specializing in the development of messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapeutics. The company leverages a proprietary RNA delivery platform to induce the production of therapeutic proteins within patients, aiming to address a range of diseases through in vivo expression of disease-modifying agents. Cartesian’s technology is designed to optimize mRNA stability, translation efficiency and targeted delivery, with potential applications spanning oncology, autoimmune disorders and rare genetic conditions.

At the core of Cartesian’s approach is a synthetic mRNA platform that incorporates proprietary lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations.