HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:CYTK)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:CYTK) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,323 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,481 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cytokinetics were worth $439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Cytokinetics by 189.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cytokinetics during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Cytokinetics by 113,500.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Cytokinetics by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 1,751 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Cytokinetics by 85.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter.

Cytokinetics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CYTK opened at $43.19 on Monday. Cytokinetics, Incorporated has a one year low of $40.53 and a one year high of $75.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.03 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a quick ratio of 9.28 and a current ratio of 9.28.

Cytokinetics (NASDAQ:CYTK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.26) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.29) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $16.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.26 million. On average, analysts predict that Cytokinetics, Incorporated will post -5.24 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CYTK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Cytokinetics in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $67.00 price target on Cytokinetics in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Cytokinetics from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Cytokinetics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $86.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Cytokinetics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cytokinetics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert I. Blum sold 16,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.44, for a total value of $737,176.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 364,181 shares in the company, valued at $15,820,022.64. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Fady Ibraham Malik sold 2,000 shares of Cytokinetics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total value of $98,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 116,071 shares in the company, valued at $5,724,621.72. This represents a 1.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,834 shares of company stock valued at $1,949,275. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

About Cytokinetics

Cytokinetics, Incorporated, a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing muscle activators and inhibitors as potential treatments for debilitating diseases. The company develops small molecule drug candidates primarily engineered to impact muscle function and contractility.