Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CLDX) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLDX) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $48.00. The stock had previously closed at $35.66, but opened at $33.83. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Celldex Therapeutics shares last traded at $33.5370, with a volume of 488,828 shares traded.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Celldex Therapeutics from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Celldex Therapeutics from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Celldex Therapeutics from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Celldex Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on Celldex Therapeutics from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celldex Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.77.

Key Headlines Impacting Celldex Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Celldex Therapeutics this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Celldex reported topline Phase 2 results for barzolvolimab in prurigo nodularis, but the study missed the primary endpoint and key secondary endpoints, triggering concern about the drug’s development path. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Celldex said it will discontinue development of the experimental skin-disease treatment after the trial setback, a move that can reduce pipeline expectations and weigh on investor sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: News of the trial failure and extended-trading selloff helped explain the sharp reaction in CLDX shares, with investors focused on the setback’s impact on Celldex’s lead dermatology program. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets, including Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Cantor Fitzgerald, Canaccord, and Guggenheim, but most kept bullish ratings such as overweight or buy, suggesting the longer-term thesis is still intact. Article Title

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celldex Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Celldex Therapeutics by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,079,608 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $219,442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279,605 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Celldex Therapeutics by 781.0% in the second quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 1,750,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,612,000 after buying an additional 1,551,354 shares during the period. Braidwell LP boosted its position in shares of Celldex Therapeutics by 214.0% in the fourth quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 1,858,109 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $50,466,000 after buying an additional 1,266,420 shares during the period. Elmind Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Celldex Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $23,493,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Celldex Therapeutics by 438.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 788,696 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,347,000 after buying an additional 642,171 shares in the last quarter.

Celldex Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.51 and a 200-day moving average of $30.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of -8.16 and a beta of 0.90.

Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CLDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $0.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.80 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

About Celldex Therapeutics

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of targeted immunotherapies for cancer and other serious diseases. The company’s research platforms leverage novel antibody and vaccine technologies designed to engage the patient’s immune system, with a particular emphasis on oncology and neurologic indications. Celldex’s pipeline includes both monoclonal antibodies and biologic agents that seek to modulate immune responses or deliver targeted cytotoxic activity.

Among Celldex’s lead product candidates is glembatumumab vedotin, an antibody–drug conjugate directed against the glycoprotein NMB (gpNMB) for the treatment of certain breast and skin cancers.