Stifel Nicolaus Initiates Coverage on Cytokinetics (NASDAQ:CYTK)

Stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Cytokinetics (NASDAQ:CYTK) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 67.15% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Cytokinetics in a report on Friday, October 18th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Cytokinetics in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Cytokinetics from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective on shares of Cytokinetics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Cytokinetics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.40.

Cytokinetics Price Performance

Cytokinetics stock opened at $47.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of -8.90 and a beta of 0.82. Cytokinetics has a 52-week low of $44.49 and a 52-week high of $84.11. The company has a quick ratio of 9.28, a current ratio of 9.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.00.

Cytokinetics (NASDAQ:CYTK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.27) by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $0.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.35) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Cytokinetics will post -5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cytokinetics news, Director Wendall Wierenga sold 4,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.25, for a total transaction of $232,617.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,283,207.75. This trade represents a 15.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert I. Blum sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $258,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 397,456 shares in the company, valued at $20,520,653.28. The trade was a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,216 shares of company stock valued at $2,799,276. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cytokinetics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CYTK. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Cytokinetics by 65.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 601 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cytokinetics by 225.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 981 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cytokinetics in the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Cytokinetics by 233.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cytokinetics in the fourth quarter valued at about $133,000.

Cytokinetics Company Profile

Cytokinetics, Incorporated, a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing muscle activators and inhibitors as potential treatments for debilitating diseases. The company develops small molecule drug candidates primarily engineered to impact muscle function and contractility.