Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) Downgraded by Maxim Group to Hold

Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) was downgraded by research analysts at Maxim Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CAPR. Roth Capital cut Capricor Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday. Alliance Global Partners cut Capricor Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Capricor Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Capricor Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $3.50 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Finally, B. Riley Financial cut shares of Capricor Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Capricor Therapeutics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.75.

Capricor Therapeutics Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Capricor Therapeutics stock opened at $6.67 on Thursday. Capricor Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $4.30 and a 12-month high of $40.37. The stock has a market cap of $386.27 million, a PE ratio of -2.88 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.07.

Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by ($0.04). On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Capricor Therapeutics will post -0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Capricor Therapeutics news, CFO Anthony Bergmann sold 24,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.38, for a total transaction of $732,158.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 11,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,954.74. This trade represents a 68.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,000 shares of company stock worth $1,551,658. 9.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Capricor Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAPR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Capricor Therapeutics by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,561,880 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $73,936,000 after purchasing an additional 355,161 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Capricor Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,533,000. Tang Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Capricor Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,062,000. RA Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Capricor Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $43,516,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Capricor Therapeutics by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,017,332 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,367,000 after purchasing an additional 55,766 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.68% of the company’s stock.

Key Capricor Therapeutics News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Peer-reviewed data support deramiocel: The Lancet published HOPE-3 Phase 3 results showing that deramiocel slowed upper-limb function decline by 54% versus placebo and produced reported cardiac benefits. Capricor said the publication independently validated the trial’s design, methodology and findings. The Lancet Publishes HOPE-3 Data for Capricor Therapeutics’ Deramiocel in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
• Neutral Sentiment: FDA panel vote is not the final agency decision: Independent advisers recommended against approval of deramiocel for the Duchenne heart-disease indication. The FDA is not required to follow the panel, but the vote is a significant regulatory obstacle. FDA panel votes against Capricor’s Duchenne heart disease therapy
• Negative Sentiment: FDA briefing documents challenged the company’s evidence: Regulators concluded that deramiocel did not demonstrate statistically significant benefits on its prespecified cardiac endpoint, undermining investor confidence despite Capricor’s positive interpretation of the HOPE-3 data.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts turned more cautious: B. Riley and Roth Capital downgraded the stock, followed by Alliance Global Partners’ move from Buy to Neutral with a $7 price target. The downgrades reflect increased uncertainty around approval and commercial prospects.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities-law investigations were announced: Rosen Law Firm, Hagens Berman, Glancy Prongay Wolff, Levi & Korsinsky, Bragar Eagel & Squire, Block & Leviton and Kirby McInerney are soliciting investors or investigating whether Capricor made misleading statements about deramiocel’s efficacy and trial results. These announcements add reputational and potential litigation risk, although no wrongdoing has been established.

Capricor Therapeutics Company Profile

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.