Cue Biopharma (NASDAQ:CUE) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cue Biopharma (NASDAQ:CUE) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CUE. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cue Biopharma from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Zacks Research raised Cue Biopharma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, B. Riley Financial initiated coverage on Cue Biopharma in a report on Friday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cue Biopharma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Cue Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of CUE opened at $27.45 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $29.26 and its 200-day moving average is $91.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.29 million, a PE ratio of -1.02 and a beta of 2.45. Cue Biopharma has a fifty-two week low of $4.97 and a fifty-two week high of $45.50.

Cue Biopharma (NASDAQ:CUE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported ($24.14) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.69) by ($22.45). Cue Biopharma had a negative return on equity of 620.06% and a negative net margin of 435.83%.The company had revenue of $7.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.00 million. Analysts predict that Cue Biopharma will post -32.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Shao-Lee Lin sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.10, for a total transaction of $1,084,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 724,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,627,256.30. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 Cue Biopharma stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president owned 48,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 72,715 shares of company stock valued at $2,041,555. 14.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CUE. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cue Biopharma in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,824,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cue Biopharma during the second quarter worth approximately $1,742,000. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cue Biopharma by 301.8% during the 2nd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 25,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 38,333 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc bought a new position in Cue Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth $722,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Cue Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth $389,000. 35.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cue Biopharma

Cue Biopharma, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapeutics that selectively activate and regulate antigen-specific T cells inside the body. Its approach is designed to direct the immune system toward cancer cells while potentially reducing the broad immune activation and toxicity associated with conventional immunotherapies.

The company’s proprietary Immuno-STAT (Selective Targeting of Antigens for Remodeling of T cells) platform uses biologic molecules that combine peptide-major histocompatibility complex components with immune-modulating signals.