Short Interest in Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CKPT) Declines By 28.5%

Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CKPT) experienced a notable decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, the total short interest stood at 5,110,000 shares, representing a decrease of 28.5% compared to the previous total of 7,150,000 shares on February 28th. Given an average trading volume of 2,430,000 shares, the current days-to-cover ratio is 2.1 days. Currently, about 14.2% of the company's shares are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO William Garrett Gray sold 74,110 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.67, resulting in a total sale value of $271,983.70. After this transaction, the CFO now owns 1,458,644 shares of the company, which is valued at approximately $5,353,223.48 and indicates a decrease of 4.84% in their ownership of the stock. This transaction was disclosed in documentation filed with the SEC. Furthermore, CEO James F. Oliviero III also sold shares, with 9,233 shares sold at an average price of $3.41 on February 7th, totaling $31,484.53. Post-transaction, the CEO holds 3,785,350 shares, valued at around $12,908,043.50, reflecting a slight 0.24% decrease in their ownership. Over the past three months, insiders have sold a total of 93,674 shares worth $336,011, with insiders currently holding 2.10% of the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently adjusted their stakes in Checkpoint Therapeutics. For instance, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake valued at $30,000 during the third quarter. Meanwhile, SBI Securities Co. Ltd., PUREfi Wealth LLC, Stifel Financial Corp, and Ameriflex Group Inc. each purchased new stakes during the fourth quarter, each valued at around $32,000. Overall, institutional investors currently own approximately 22.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Multiple research firms have updated their positions on CKPT. On March 10th, Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating while reducing its price target from $7.00 to $4.10. HC Wainwright also reiterated a "neutral" rating with a similar price target of $4.10 on March 11th. Finally, D. Boral Capital emphasized a "buy" rating while lowering the price objective from $9.00 to $4.80 on the same day.

Checkpoint Therapeutics Price Performance

On Friday, shares of CKPT rose by $0.01, reaching a value of $4.04. The trading volume for the day was 522,554 shares, significantly lower than the average volume of 1,124,079. The company’s stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.32 and a two-hundred-day simple moving average of $3.26. With a 52-week low of $1.38 and a high of $4.50, Checkpoint Therapeutics has a market capitalization of approximately $197.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.20, and a beta of 1.41.

Checkpoint Therapeutics last reported its earnings on March 28th, indicating an EPS of ($0.69) for the quarter, which fell short of the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.47). Current research analysts predict that Checkpoint Therapeutics will post an earnings per share of -0.94 for this year.

About Checkpoint Therapeutics

Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage company engaged in immunotherapy and targeted oncology. The company is focused on acquiring, developing, and commercializing innovative treatments for patients with solid tumor cancers in both the United States and internationally. Its leading product candidate is Cosibelimab, which is currently undergoing Phase 1 clinical trials aimed at treating certain recurrent or metastatic cancers. Additionally, CK-302 is another product candidate that is in preclinical trials targeting hematological malignancies and solid tumors.

therapeutics, stocks, investment