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

Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CKPT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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 stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,410,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days.

Checkpoint Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CKPT traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3.18. 592,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,262,361. Checkpoint Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $1.38 and a 1 year high of $4.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.91.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO William Garrett Gray sold 268,432 shares of Checkpoint Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 20.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James F. Oliviero III sold 220,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.38, for a total transaction of $744,377.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,194,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,797,690.54. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CKPT. Magnus Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Checkpoint Therapeutics by 12.9% during the third quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 35,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Choreo LLC grew its stake in Checkpoint Therapeutics by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 65,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 7,080 shares in the last quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Checkpoint Therapeutics by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 149,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 12,676 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Checkpoint Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Checkpoint Therapeutics by 375.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Checkpoint Therapeutics Company Profile

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.