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

Cue Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CUE) was the recipient of a significant 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. Based on an average daily volume of 666,076 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 11.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Cue Biopharma Trading Down 11.0%

Cue Biopharma stock traded down $2.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.90. The company had a trading volume of 120,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,602. Cue Biopharma has a 12-month low of $4.97 and a 12-month high of $45.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.04 and its 200-day moving average is $75.24. The company has a market capitalization of $158.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.81 and a beta of 2.62.

Cue Biopharma (NASDAQ:CUE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported ($24.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.69) by ($22.45). Cue Biopharma had a negative net margin of 435.83% and a negative return on equity of 620.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cue Biopharma will post -21.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CUE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cue Biopharma from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cue Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Zacks Research raised Cue Biopharma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, B. Riley Financial began coverage on Cue Biopharma in a research report on Friday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sumita Ray sold 8,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.09, for a total value of $265,664.61. Following 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Michael Vincent Meluzio sold 5,628 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 10.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 72,715 shares of company stock valued at $2,041,555 over the last quarter. 14.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cue Biopharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CUE. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cue Biopharma in the second quarter worth about $1,824,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cue Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,742,000. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its position 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 valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 38,333 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Cue Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $722,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cue Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $389,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.04% of the company’s stock.

About Cue Biopharma

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.