Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $703,000 Position in Celcuity, Inc. $CELC

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Celcuity, Inc. (NASDAQ:CELC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $703,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CELC. Apis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celcuity in the third quarter valued at about $38,334,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Celcuity by 910.1% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 854,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,211,000 after purchasing an additional 769,891 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Celcuity in the third quarter valued at about $36,236,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Celcuity by 2,208.6% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 652,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,241,000 after purchasing an additional 624,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soleus Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Celcuity by 17.0% in the second quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,011,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,208,000 after purchasing an additional 437,696 shares during the last quarter. 63.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celcuity Stock Up 1.5%

NASDAQ CELC opened at $132.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.04, a quick ratio of 12.31 and a current ratio of 12.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.94. Celcuity, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.50 and a twelve month high of $151.02. The stock has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of -34.07 and a beta of 0.09.

Celcuity (NASDAQ:CELC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.97) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.10. On average, research analysts forecast that Celcuity, Inc. will post -3.96 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CELC shares. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Celcuity from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $157.00 target price on shares of Celcuity in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $189.00 target price on shares of Celcuity in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Celcuity from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Celcuity from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celcuity currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Celcuity news, Director Richard E. Buller sold 9,000 shares of Celcuity stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.46, for a total transaction of $1,264,140.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $949,509.60. The trade was a 57.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director David Dalvey sold 25,000 shares of Celcuity stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total value of $3,517,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 65,000 shares in the company, valued at $9,144,200. The trade was a 27.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 37,000 shares of company stock worth $5,111,950 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.33% of the company’s stock.

Celcuity Company Profile

Celcuity, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in precision oncology diagnostics. The company develops and commercializes predictive biomarker assays designed to identify which patients are most likely to benefit from targeted cancer therapies. By integrating functional profiling of tumor cells with molecular analyses, Celcuity seeks to optimize treatment selection and improve outcomes for patients with solid tumors.

Celcuity’s proprietary platform evaluates tumor cell sensitivity to various therapeutic agents using ex vivo assays that measure DNA damage response and other critical pathways.