Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDTX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDTX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 237,800 shares, an increase of 30.7% from the February 13th total of 182,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 100,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity at Cidara Therapeutics

In other news, insider Leslie Tari sold 1,773 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.96, for a total transaction of $38,935.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,215 shares in the company, valued at $356,081.40. This trade represents a 9.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Shane Ward sold 1,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.96, for a total transaction of $36,541.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $322,241.04. The trade was a 10.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cidara Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CDTX. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Cidara Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Cidara Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $165,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in Cidara Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $339,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cidara Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $342,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cidara Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.82% of the company’s stock.

Cidara Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of CDTX stock opened at $22.14 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.99 million, a P/E ratio of -0.86 and a beta of 0.88. Cidara Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $10.00 and a 52-week high of $28.42.

Cidara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CDTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($5.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($5.28) by ($0.10). Cidara Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 289.05% and a negative return on equity of 69.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cidara Therapeutics will post -8.74 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CDTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Cidara Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Cidara Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. WBB Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Cidara Therapeutics from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. JMP Securities set a $46.00 price target on shares of Cidara Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Cidara Therapeutics from $24.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.14.

About Cidara Therapeutics

Cidara Therapeutics, Inc, a biotechnology company, focuses on developing targeted therapies for patients facing cancers and other serious diseases. The company's product includes rezafungin acetate, a novel molecule in the echinocandin class of antifungals for the treatment and prevention of invasive fungal infections, including candidemia and invasive candidiasis, which are fungal infections associated with high mortality rates.