Cartesian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RNAC) Shares Down 0.6% – Here’s What Happened

Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNAC) shares were down 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $6.76 and last traded at $6.79. Approximately 71,035 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 112,021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Cartesian Therapeutics from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on shares of Cartesian Therapeutics from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cartesian Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Cartesian Therapeutics from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Cartesian Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.50.

Cartesian Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $176.54 million, a P/E ratio of -4.35 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.03.

Cartesian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RNAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($1.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.81) by ($0.57). The company had revenue of $0.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.18 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Blaine Davis sold 10,591 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.82, for a total transaction of $72,230.62. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 60.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cartesian Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in Cartesian Therapeutics by 64.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Cartesian Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Cartesian Therapeutics by 12.5% during the second quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 9,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Miller Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Cartesian Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Cartesian Therapeutics by 133.0% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 7,952 shares in the last quarter. 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.