Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR)

Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAPR) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 5,674 put options on the company. This is an increase of 171% compared to the average volume of 2,094 put options.

Capricor Therapeutics Trading Down 5.4%

Shares of CAPR traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $21.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 678,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,270,188. Capricor Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $4.30 and a 52 week high of $40.37. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of -9.43 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $28.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.28.

Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by ($0.04). Research analysts anticipate that Capricor Therapeutics will post -0.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CAPR shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $58.00 target price (up from $45.00) on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Capricor Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Capricor Therapeutics from $50.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Capricor Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Capricor Therapeutics news, CFO Anthony Bergmann sold 24,100 shares of Capricor Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.38, for a total transaction of $732,158.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,223 shares in the company, valued at $340,954.74. The trade was a 68.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,551,658 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 13.2% in the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 36,330 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 4,240 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 672.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 415,483 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,631,000 after acquiring an additional 361,664 shares during the last quarter. Stempoint Capital LP boosted its holdings in Capricor Therapeutics by 110.6% during the 1st quarter. Stempoint Capital LP now owns 37,592 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,143,000 after acquiring an additional 19,739 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in Capricor Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $687,000. Finally, Ally Bridge Group NY LLC bought a new position in Capricor Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,463,000. 21.68% of the stock is 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.