Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) Cut to Neutral at B. Riley Financial

B. Riley Financial lowered shares of Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $10.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CAPR. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a report on Friday, May 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Capricor Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Capricor Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.60.

Capricor Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CAPR opened at $6.67 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $386.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.88 and a beta of 0.42. Capricor Therapeutics has a one year low of $4.30 and a one year high of $40.37.

Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.55) by ($0.04). As a group, equities research analysts expect that Capricor Therapeutics will post -0.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Capricor Therapeutics

In other Capricor Therapeutics news, CFO Anthony Bergmann sold 25,000 shares of Capricor Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.70, for a total value of $792,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $260,669.10. The trade was a 75.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,000 shares of company stock worth $1,551,658. 9.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAPR. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in Capricor Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. ACT Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Capricor Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 5,021.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,329 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,429 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,040 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 21.68% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Capricor Therapeutics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Supportive clinical publication: The Lancet published HOPE-3 Phase 3 data showing that deramiocel slowed upper-limb functional decline by 54% versus placebo and demonstrated potential cardiac benefits. Capricor said the publication independently validated the trial’s design, methodology and findings. The Lancet Publishes HOPE-3 Data
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading halt and valuation data: CAPR trading was temporarily halted for pending news ahead of the FDA panel decision. A reported analyst consensus price target of about $53.67 is now largely disconnected from the stock’s recent trading level, while B. Riley maintained a neutral rating. Capricor Receives Average Analyst Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: FDA panel rejects demonstrated benefit: Independent FDA advisers voted against deramiocel’s benefits for Duchenne-related cardiomyopathy. FDA briefing materials questioned Capricor’s claim that the treatment produced statistically significant benefits on its prespecified cardiac endpoint, creating substantial uncertainty around approval. FDA Panel Votes Against Capricor Therapy
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades: B. Riley and Roth Capital downgraded Capricor following the FDA vote, adding to Alliance Global Partners’ prior cut from “buy” to “neutral” with a $7 price target. The downgrades signal reduced confidence in the drug’s near-term commercial potential. Capricor Shares Fall After Analyst Downgrades
• Negative Sentiment: Investor investigations: Several law firms announced investigations into potential securities-law violations related to Capricor’s disclosures and the FDA review. These announcements do not establish wrongdoing but may add legal costs, reputational risk and selling pressure.

About Capricor Therapeutics

Capricor Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of cell and exosome-based therapeutics for cardiovascular and rare diseases. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, the company leverages proprietary cardiosphere-derived cell (CDC) technology to address conditions characterized by inflammation, fibrosis, and tissue degeneration. Since its founding, Capricor has advanced its lead candidate through multiple clinical trials and has built a pipeline that spans both cell therapy and extracellular vesicle (exosome) platforms.

The company’s leading product candidate, CAP-1002, comprises allogeneic CDCs and is being evaluated in indications such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and COVID-19-related heart injury.