Prudential Financial Inc. Acquires New Stake in Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS)

Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 37,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRIS. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Curis by 11.1% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 123,644 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 12,344 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Curis by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 368,278 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after buying an additional 141,712 shares during the period. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY raised its position in shares of Curis by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY now owns 82,518 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 5,585 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Curis during the fourth quarter valued at about $183,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Curis by 152.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 361,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 217,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.76% of the company’s stock.

Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ CRIS) traded down 3.26% on Wednesday, reaching $1.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 62,852 shares. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.25. Curis, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1.47 and a 52-week high of $3.72. The company’s market cap is $256.10 million.

Curis (NASDAQ:CRIS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 million. Curis had a negative net margin of 683.65% and a negative return on equity of 368.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Curis, Inc. will post ($0.40) EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRIS has been the topic of several analyst reports. ValuEngine raised Curis from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 22nd. Zacks Investment Research lowered Curis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. BidaskClub lowered Curis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Cowen and Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Curis in a research report on Friday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.88.

About Curis

Curis, Inc is a biotechnology company seeking to develop and commercialize drug candidates for the treatment of cancers. The Company’s drug candidate is CUDC-907, an orally-available, small molecule inhibitor of histone deacetylase (HDAC) and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) enzymes. CUDC-907 is an oral, dual inhibitor of Class I and II HDAC, as well as Class I PI3K enzymes.