Cytokinetics (NASDAQ:CYTK) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Cytokinetics (NASDAQ:CYTK) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

CYTK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Cytokinetics from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Cytokinetics from an “overweight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Cytokinetics from $117.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cytokinetics from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Cytokinetics from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.37.

Cytokinetics Price Performance

Cytokinetics stock opened at $64.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.12. Cytokinetics has a 1-year low of $47.87 and a 1-year high of $88.31. The stock has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.96 and a beta of 0.36.

Cytokinetics (NASDAQ:CYTK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.63) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $28.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.12) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 57.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Cytokinetics will post -5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Blum sold 97,926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.33, for a total transaction of $6,789,209.58. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 385,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,714,235.60. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Andrew Callos sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total value of $1,287,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,024,019. The trade was a 20.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 207,538 shares of company stock worth $15,364,347 over the last 90 days. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cytokinetics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CYTK. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Cytokinetics by 63.8% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 405,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,502,000 after acquiring an additional 157,700 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cytokinetics during the 4th quarter worth $51,281,000. Siren L.L.C. acquired a new position in Cytokinetics during the 1st quarter worth $40,466,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Cytokinetics by 181.9% during the 4th quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 479,611 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,473,000 after purchasing an additional 309,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cytokinetics during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,960,000.

About Cytokinetics

Cytokinetics, Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing medicines that target the biology of muscle function. The company applies expertise in muscle physiology and contractility to develop potential treatments for cardiovascular and neuromuscular diseases.

Its leading programs include aficamten, an investigational cardiac myosin inhibitor being developed for conditions involving abnormal heart-muscle contraction, including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.