Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on Cellectis (NASDAQ:CLLS)

Equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Cellectis (NASDAQ:CLLS) in a research report issued on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $7.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 87.67% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cellectis in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Cellectis in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Clear Str upgraded Cellectis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.33.

Cellectis Stock Performance

CLLS stock opened at $3.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.77. Cellectis has a 12 month low of $1.10 and a 12 month high of $5.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cellectis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CLLS. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Cellectis by 228.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,722,664 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,856,000 after buying an additional 3,284,409 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in Cellectis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,385,000. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cellectis during the third quarter valued at approximately $633,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Cellectis by 1,610.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 178,473 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 168,038 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cellectis by 132.9% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 46,377 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 26,461 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.90% of the company’s stock.

About Cellectis

Cellectis is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of gene‐edited cell therapies for oncology. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Paris, France, the company also maintains operations in New York City and Raleigh, North Carolina. Cellectis applies its proprietary TALEN genome editing platform to engineer allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T‐cell (CAR‐T) candidates designed to target blood cancers and solid tumors.

The company’s core business activities encompass the discovery, development and manufacturing of off‐the‐shelf immunotherapies.