Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) Stock Price Up 6.6% – Time to Buy?
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyCapricor Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAPR – Get Free Report)’s stock price shot up 6.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $31.02 and last traded at $32.1220. 184,252 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,370,198 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.12.
Capricor Therapeutics News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Capricor Therapeutics this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages have raised targets or issued overweight/buy ratings (Cantor Fitzgerald $62, Piper Sandler $58, Maxim $50), supporting upside expectations versus the consensus. Analyst Coverage
- Neutral Sentiment: One director sale (7,529 shares at $32.00) was executed under a pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plan, which typically mutes the negative signal from insider selling but does not eliminate market concern. SEC Filing
- Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is modest (~21.7%) with a few small new positions reported — indicates some institutional interest but not large-scale conviction yet. Institutional Holdings
- Negative Sentiment: CFO Anthony Bergmann sold 25,000 shares on March 31 at an average $30.13 (disclosed in an SEC Form 4), reducing his direct holding by ~75% — a sizable insider reduction that may worry investors about near-term outlook or personal liquidity needs. CFO Sale Filing
- Negative Sentiment: Director Karimah Es Sabar sold large blocks across March 31–April 1–2 (61,265 @ $30.17; 53,735 @ $31.03; plus a 7,529 @ $32.00 sale under a 10b5‑1 plan). Combined insider disposals this week total roughly 148k shares for several million dollars — a significant decrease in insider ownership that can pressure sentiment. Director Sale Filing
- Negative Sentiment: Capricor missed Q4 EPS estimates (reported -$0.62 vs. consensus -$0.51 on March 12), which is a near-term fundamental negative that analysts and investors will weigh against bullish price targets. Earnings Report
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $50.00 target price on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $62.00 price objective on Capricor Therapeutics and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Capricor Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on Capricor Therapeutics from $50.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Nine 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.09.
Get Our Latest Research Report on CAPR
Capricor Therapeutics Price Performance
The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.01. The firm has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of -14.21 and a beta of 0.48.
Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Analysts expect that Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.21 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Karimah Es Sabar sold 7,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $240,928.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Anthony Bergmann sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.13, for a total value of $753,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $247,758.99. This represents a 75.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 147,529 shares of company stock worth $4,509,940. Company insiders own 10.50% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Capricor Therapeutics
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 411,141 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after acquiring an additional 116,373 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 6.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 963,080 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,565,000 after acquiring an additional 61,701 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 8.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 41,273 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,205 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Capricor Therapeutics by 7.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 53,450 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Capricor Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $796,000. 21.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.