Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) Shares Up 5% – Here’s What Happened

Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) shares shot up 5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $34.18 and last traded at $33.8150. 24,828 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 258,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on RAPT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rapt Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Rapt Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $72.00 target price on Rapt Therapeutics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Rapt Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Rapt Therapeutics from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rapt Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.44.

Rapt Therapeutics Stock Up 9.0%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.08. The stock has a market cap of $972.66 million, a PE ratio of -3.17 and a beta of 0.45.

Rapt Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.88) by $0.23. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rapt Therapeutics will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rapt Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Rapt Therapeutics by 411.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 58,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 47,391 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Rapt Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $188,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Rapt Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $231,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Rapt Therapeutics by 680.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 28,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Rapt Therapeutics by 32.0% during the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 20,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.09% of the company’s stock.

About Rapt Therapeutics

RAPT Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ:RAPT) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics for autoimmune and allergic diseases. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Diego, California, RAPT applies tissue-selective immunology to design small molecule and biologic candidates that modulate immune cell trafficking and tissue-resident pathways. The company’s research platform enables the identification of targets that drive tissue inflammation with the goal of achieving improved efficacy and safety profiles over current therapies.

The company’s lead asset, RPT193, is an orally available antagonist of the CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4), currently in clinical development for atopic dermatitis and allergic asthma.