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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Checkpoint Therapeutics Trading Down 4.5 %

CKPT traded down $0.15 on Friday, reaching $3.18. The stock had a trading volume of 592,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,262,361. The company has a market capitalization of $155.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.73 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3.62 and a 200-day moving average of $2.91. Checkpoint Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.38 and a fifty-two week high of $4.50.

Checkpoint Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CKPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.08). Sell-side analysts anticipate that Checkpoint Therapeutics will post -0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Checkpoint Therapeutics

In related news, CFO William Garrett Gray sold 268,432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,032,754 shares in the company, valued at $4,141,343.54. The trade was a 20.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James F. Oliviero III sold 220,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,194,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,797,690.54. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Checkpoint Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CKPT. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Checkpoint Therapeutics by 366.3% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 229,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 180,050 shares during the period. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Checkpoint Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $295,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Checkpoint Therapeutics by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 427,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 124,787 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Checkpoint Therapeutics by 160.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 130,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 80,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Checkpoint Therapeutics by 96.9% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 153,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 75,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.00% of the company’s stock.

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.