Wall Street Believes Celcuity Could Become An Acquisition Target – Why This Analyst Raised Their Price Target By A Whopping 76%

• H.C. Wainwright upgraded Celcuity to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ and raised its price target to $165 from $94, citing positive Phase 3 trial results.
• Citizens raised its price target for Celcuity to $160 from $150 and maintained an ‘Outperform’ rating.
• The firm highlighted expected progression-free survival of 11–12 months for the triplet regimen and stronger-than-anticipated efficacy from the doublet versus control.

Celcuity Inc. (CELC) could become an acquisition target in the oncology space, according to analysts, after the company reported positive results in the Phase 3 trial of its breast cancer therapy.

According to TheFly, analysts at HC Wainwright expressed optimism about the company’s prospects after Celcuity’s breast cancer therapy, gedatolisib, achieved its primary endpoint in a Phase 3 trial.

Celcuity shares were up more than 15% in Monday’s pre-market trade, extending the gains from Friday. If CELC stock ends Monday’s regular trading session with these gains, it would be the stock’s best single-day gain in more than six months.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company trended in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory, with message volumes at ‘extremely high’ levels at the time of writing.

Why Are Analysts Optimistic?

Analysts at H.C. Wainwright upgraded Celcuity to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ and raised their price target to $165 from $94, citing positive Phase 3 trial results. The firm said gedatolisib has the potential to be a “game-changing” treatment for HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer and could position Celcuity as an acquisition target.

Citizens raised its price target for Celcuity to $160 from $150 and maintained an ‘Outperform’ rating. The firm said the data suggest the drug could expand its use in second-line ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer, demonstrating benefit regardless of PI3K mutation status.

It also pointed to expected progression-free survival of 11–12 months for the triplet regimen and stronger-than-anticipated efficacy from the doublet versus control.

Stifel analyst Stephen Willey raised the firm’s price target on Celcuity to $150 from $125 and maintained a ‘Buy’ rating. Willey said the “statistically significant and clinically meaningful” improvement in the Phase 3 trial was largely expected, but noted that its selection as a late-breaking oral presentation at the ASCO Annual Meeting on June 2 was the bigger surprise.

Celcuity’s Latest Announcement

Celcuity reported positive Phase 3 results for gedatolisib plus fulvestrant, with or without palbociclib, in patients with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer after prior CDK4/6 and aromatase inhibitor treatment.

The company stated that the gedatolisib triplet regimen met the primary endpoint, demonstrating a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival compared with alpelisib plus fulvestrant.

The gedatolisib doublet also delivered a statistically significant PFS benefit compared with the control arm, despite being a secondary endpoint; both regimens demonstrated manageable safety profiles with no new safety concerns.

HR+/HER2- breast cancer is the most common form of the disease, representing about 70% of all cases. Within this group, roughly 40% of patients carry PIK3CA mutations.

CELC stock is up 26% year-to-date and 1,063% over the past 12 months. The Tema Oncology ETF (CANC) is up 50% over the past 12 months, while the S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) is up 58%.

Also See: GameStop's Ryan Cohen Says He Plans On Bringing An Entrepreneurial Mindset To eBay And Building Something 'Much Larger'

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.