Janux Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JANX) Stock Price Up 6.9% – Should You Buy?

Janux Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:JANX) shot up 6.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $43.79 and last traded at $44.14. 110,574 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,090,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JANX. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Janux Therapeutics from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Janux Therapeutics in a report on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Janux Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Janux Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $69.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Janux Therapeutics from $70.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Janux Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.90.

Janux Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.24 and a beta of 3.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.42.

Janux Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JANX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by ($0.18). Janux Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 463.91% and a negative return on equity of 10.47%. The firm had revenue of $0.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 million. Janux Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was down 82.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Janux Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew Hollman Meyer sold 13,334 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $731,769.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 82,139 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,788.32. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David Alan Campbell sold 5,000 shares of Janux Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 293,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,583,240. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,334 shares of company stock worth $4,731,520 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 29.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Janux Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Janux Therapeutics by 18.7% in the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Janux Therapeutics by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Janux Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $139,000. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Janux Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC bought a new stake in Janux Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $230,000. 75.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Janux Therapeutics Company Profile

Janux Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops immunotherapies based on Tumor Activated T Cell Engagers (TRACTr) and Tumor Activated Immunomodulators (TRACIr) platforms technology to treat patients suffering from cancer. The company's clinical candidates comprise JANX007, a prostate-specific membrane antigen or PSMA-TRACTr, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial in adults for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and the vasculature of other tumors; and JANX008, an epidermal growth factor receptor or EGFR-TRACTr that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of multiple solid cancers, including colorectal cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, non-small cell lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma.