Candel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CADL) Earns “Buy” Rating from Canaccord Genuity Group

Candel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CADL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Canaccord Genuity Group in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $25.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 435.33% from the stock’s previous close.

CADL has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Candel Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Candel Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Candel Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Candel Therapeutics from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Candel Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Candel Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Candel Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CADL opened at $4.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $256.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.58 and a beta of -0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 8.25 and a quick ratio of 8.25. Candel Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $4.25 and a 12 month high of $9.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $5.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.43.

Candel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CADL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.30). Equities research analysts anticipate that Candel Therapeutics will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Candel Therapeutics

In related news, Director Paul B. Manning acquired 550,458 shares of Candel Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $5.45 per share, with a total value of $2,999,996.10. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,763,527 shares in the company, valued at $15,061,222.15. The trade was a 24.87% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Candel Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Acorn Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Candel Therapeutics by 19.9% during the second quarter. Acorn Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,580,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,057,000 after purchasing an additional 428,265 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Candel Therapeutics by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,007,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,236,000 after purchasing an additional 219,563 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Candel Therapeutics by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 977,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,524,000 after purchasing an additional 49,315 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Candel Therapeutics by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 792,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,476,000 after purchasing an additional 103,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. increased its stake in Candel Therapeutics by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 748,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,227,000 after purchasing an additional 50,051 shares in the last quarter. 13.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Candel Therapeutics News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target (~435% upside vs. the current $4.67), supporting bullish sentiment and potential buying interest. Canaccord Genuity Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup kept a “buy” rating while trimming its price target to $22.00 (still ~371% upside), which can lend confidence to momentum investors despite the lower PT. Citigroup Price Target Cut
• Positive Sentiment: Company update: Candel outlined progress advancing its lead cancer immunotherapy toward potential commercialization, announced planned Phase 3 trials and a regulatory filing timeline, and described actions to strengthen the balance sheet—news that supports long-term value drivers. Corporate Update & Balance Sheet
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in recent feeds shows zero shares and NaN changes (likely a reporting anomaly); this makes it hard to read short-seller pressure from public data today. (No reliable short-interest link available.)
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 earnings miss: Candel reported ($0.54) EPS vs. consensus ($0.24) loss, a material miss that likely triggered selling by near-term traders concerned about cash burn and near-term execution. Q4 Earnings Release
• Negative Sentiment: Debt covenant risk: An analyst note flagged restrictive covenants in the RTW purchase agreement that could limit financial flexibility and raise default risk—this increases investor concern about financing options and downside risk. RTW Covenant Risk Note

Candel Therapeutics Company Profile

Candel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CADL) is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on the development of next-generation oncolytic viral therapies designed to treat solid tumors. The company’s lead candidate, CAN-2409, is a locally administered, gene-delivered viral therapy engineered to selectively replicate in cancer cells and induce immunogenic cell death. Candel leverages proprietary virus engineering platforms to enhance tumor-specific replication and stimulate anti-tumor immune responses, aiming to improve outcomes for patients with high unmet medical needs.

In addition to its lead program, Candel’s pipeline includes CAN-3110, an oncolytic herpes simplex virus targeting recurrent high-grade glioma, and other novel viral constructs being explored for a variety of solid tumor indications.