Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDTX) Short Interest Up 62.2% in March

Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDTX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 470,300 shares, a growth of 62.2% from the March 15th total of 289,900 shares. Approximately 6.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 137,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CDTX shares. JMP Securities set a $46.00 target price on Cidara Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup began coverage on Cidara Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cidara Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Cidara Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Cidara Therapeutics from $24.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Leslie Tari sold 1,773 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.96, for a total transaction of $38,935.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $356,081.40. The trade was a 9.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Shane Ward sold 1,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.96, for a total value of $36,541.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $322,241.04. This represents a 10.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Cidara Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Cidara Therapeutics by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 33,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Cidara Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $165,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cidara Therapeutics by 22.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,898 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 9,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in Cidara Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $339,000. 35.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cidara Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of CDTX traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $19.48. The stock had a trading volume of 67,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,794. The firm has a market cap of $213.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.76 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.14. Cidara Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $10.00 and a twelve month high of $28.42.

Cidara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CDTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($5.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($5.28) by ($0.10). Cidara Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 69.64% and a negative net margin of 289.05%. Analysts forecast that Cidara Therapeutics will post -8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Cidara Therapeutics

Cidara Therapeutics, Inc, a biotechnology company, focuses on developing targeted therapies for patients facing cancers and other serious diseases. The company's product includes rezafungin acetate, a novel molecule in the echinocandin class of antifungals for the treatment and prevention of invasive fungal infections, including candidemia and invasive candidiasis, which are fungal infections associated with high mortality rates.