Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 1,820,114 Shares of Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:CYTK)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in shares of Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:CYTK - Free Report) by 77.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 536,447 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,820,114 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.45% of Cytokinetics worth $29,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Cytokinetics by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 32,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,755,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Cytokinetics by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 141,516 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,667,000 after purchasing an additional 18,384 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in Cytokinetics by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 27,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,495,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Cytokinetics by 2,470.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 87,812 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,758,000 after purchasing an additional 84,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cytokinetics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $237,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CYTK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Cytokinetics from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Cytokinetics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Cytokinetics from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Cytokinetics from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Cytokinetics in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.07.

Cytokinetics Stock Performance

NASDAQ CYTK traded up $0.38 on Thursday, hitting $46.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,377,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,981,542. The company's 50-day moving average is $52.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.98. Cytokinetics, Incorporated has a one year low of $35.66 and a one year high of $110.25. The stock has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.69 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 9.28, a current ratio of 9.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93.

Cytokinetics (NASDAQ:CYTK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.27) by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $0.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 million. Cytokinetics's quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.35) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Cytokinetics, Incorporated will post -5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cytokinetics

In other news, Director John T. Henderson sold 1,780 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total transaction of $89,747.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,939,203.62. This represents a 4.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Wendall Wierenga sold 742 shares of Cytokinetics stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.61, for a total transaction of $36,068.62. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,193,812.99. This trade represents a 2.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,816 shares of company stock worth $3,923,463 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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.