Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $33.18, but opened at $35.18. Rapt Therapeutics shares last traded at $33.71, with a volume of 20,832 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Cowen started coverage on Rapt Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Rapt Therapeutics from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Rapt Therapeutics from $27.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Rapt Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Rapt Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.50.

Rapt Therapeutics Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $960.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.13 and a beta of 0.43.

Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.65) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.88) by $0.23. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rapt Therapeutics will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rapt Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RAPT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rapt Therapeutics by 112.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 150,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 79,967 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Rapt Therapeutics by 411.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 58,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 47,391 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Rapt Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $143,000. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Rapt Therapeutics by 53.9% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 89,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 31,287 shares during the period. Finally, Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rapt Therapeutics by 303.1% during the first quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 5,012,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,116,000 after purchasing an additional 3,769,414 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.09% of the company’s stock.

Rapt Therapeutics Company Profile

RAPT Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage immunology-based biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovery, development, and commercialization of oral small molecule therapies for patients with unmet needs in oncology and inflammatory diseases in the United States. The company's lead inflammation drug candidate is zelnecirnon (RPT193), a C-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4) antagonist that selectively inhibit the migration of type 2 T helper cells into inflamed tissues.