Candel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CADL) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Candel Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CADL) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $13.95 and last traded at $13.60, with a volume of 1342527 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on CADL shares. Wall Street Zen cut Candel Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Candel Therapeutics from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Candel Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Candel Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised Candel Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Candel Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.29.

Candel Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 16.09, a quick ratio of 16.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of -9.75 and a beta of -0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.86.

Candel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CADL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.52) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.28). Sell-side analysts forecast that Candel Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Seshu Tyagarajan sold 7,000 shares of Candel Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total value of $84,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 76,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $922,380. The trade was a 8.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Francesca Barone sold 23,447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.06, for a total transaction of $235,876.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 77,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,261.72. This trade represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,447 shares of company stock worth $390,017. Insiders own 14.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Candel Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Candel Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $59,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Candel Therapeutics by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4,583 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Candel Therapeutics by 26.8% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 33,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 7,030 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Candel Therapeutics by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 903,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,575,000 after acquiring an additional 216,509 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Candel Therapeutics by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 5,270 shares during the period. 13.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Candel Therapeutics

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.