Short Interest in Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CKPT) Grows By 17.5%

Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CKPT) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,000,000 shares, an increase of 17.5% from the December 15th total of 6,810,000 shares. Approximately 21.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. D. Boral Capital assumed coverage on Checkpoint Therapeutics in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $9.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Checkpoint Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their price target on Checkpoint Therapeutics from $4.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Insider Activity at Checkpoint Therapeutics

In other news, CFO William Garrett Gray sold 268,432 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total value of $1,076,412.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,032,754 shares in the company, valued at $4,141,343.54. This trade represents a 20.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James F. Oliviero III sold 220,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.38, for a total value of $744,377.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,194,583 shares in the company, valued at $10,797,690.54. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Checkpoint Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Checkpoint Therapeutics by 12.9% during the third quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 35,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in shares of Checkpoint Therapeutics by 12.2% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 65,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 7,080 shares during the period. PVG Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Checkpoint Therapeutics by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 149,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 12,676 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Checkpoint Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Checkpoint Therapeutics by 375.0% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the period. 22.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Checkpoint Therapeutics Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of CKPT traded down $0.15 on Friday, reaching $3.18. 592,705 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,262,361. The stock has a market cap of $155.28 million, a PE ratio of -1.73 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.91. Checkpoint Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $1.38 and a 52-week high of $4.50.

Checkpoint Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CKPT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.08). Analysts forecast that Checkpoint Therapeutics will post -0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

About Checkpoint Therapeutics

Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage immunotherapy and targeted oncology company, focuses on the acquisition, development, and commercialization of novel treatments for patients with solid tumor cancers in the United States and internationally. The company's lead antibody product candidate is Cosibelimab, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial to treat patients with selected recurrent or metastatic cancers; and CK-302, a product candidate in preclinical trials for hematological malignancies and solid tumors.