Cue Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CUE) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Cue Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CUE) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 702,198 shares, a growth of 111.4% from the September 15th total of 332,105 shares. Approximately 11.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 666,076 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael Vincent Meluzio sold 5,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.09, for a total transaction of $169,346.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 48,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,473,236.49. This represents a 10.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Sumita Ray sold 8,829 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.09, for a total value of $265,664.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 118,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,567,019.05. This represents a 6.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 86,790 shares of company stock valued at $2,430,815. Company insiders own 14.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cue Biopharma

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cue Biopharma by 301.8% during the 2nd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 25,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 38,333 shares during the period. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Cue Biopharma in the second quarter valued at $338,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Cue Biopharma in the second quarter worth about $219,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Cue Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth $1,742,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Cue Biopharma in the second quarter worth about $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CUE. Zacks Research upgraded Cue Biopharma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on Cue Biopharma in a research note on Friday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cue Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Cue Biopharma from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cue Biopharma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.00.

Cue Biopharma Stock Down 3.7%

NASDAQ CUE traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $17.91. 117,700 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 351,840. The firm has a market cap of $130.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.66 and a beta of 2.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.25. Cue Biopharma has a 52-week low of $4.97 and a 52-week high of $45.50.

Cue Biopharma (NASDAQ:CUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The company reported ($24.14) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.69) by ($22.45). The business had revenue of $7.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.00 million. Cue Biopharma had a negative net margin of 435.83% and a negative return on equity of 620.06%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cue Biopharma will post -21.79 EPS for the current year.

Cue Biopharma Company Profile

Cue Biopharma, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing targeted immunotherapies for cancer and other serious diseases. The company’s approach is based on its proprietary Immuno-STAT (Selective Targeting of Antigenic T cells) platform, which is designed to selectively activate and expand disease-specific T cells in the body while potentially reducing the broad immune activation associated with some conventional immunotherapies.

Cue Biopharma’s pipeline includes biologic product candidates intended to target cancer-associated antigens.