Should You Buy Cartesian Therapeutics Inc (RNAC) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.
Conclusion
Hold
Latest Price
6.830
1 Day change
-2.15%
52 Week Range
20.000
Analysis Updated At
2026/01/30
RNAC is not a good buy right now for an impatient investor. The tape is still bearish (downtrend confirmed by moving averages and a worsening MACD), price is trading below key support, and pattern-based odds point to additional near-term weakness (next-week bias ~-6%). While Wall Street remains constructive on the longer-term story (Buy ratings with very high price targets), there is no fresh catalyst in the last week and Intellectia signals show no actionable buy setup today. I would hold off on buying until price reclaims broken support/turns the MACD and regains the pivot area (~7.41).
Technical Analysis
Trend is bearish. Moving averages are stacked bearishly (SMA_200 > SMA_20 > SMA_5), indicating persistent downside momentum. MACD histogram is -0.0518 and negatively expanding, which typically signals the downtrend is strengthening rather than stabilizing. RSI_6 is ~29.94 (near oversold), suggesting selling pressure is heavy and a bounce is possible, but oversold alone is not a reliable ‘buy now’ trigger when trend/momentum are still deteriorating. Key levels: Pivot 7.405 is the upside line to reclaim for trend improvement; resistance at 7.764 (R1) then 7.986 (R2). Supports: S1 7.046 and S2 6.824; the stock at 6.77 is below S2, a bearish breakdown that often invites follow-through selling unless it quickly recovers above ~6.82–7.05.
Options Data
Bullish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bullish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Options positioning is skewed bullish/less defensive on open interest (put/call OI = 0.32 with calls > puts: 1628 call OI vs 514 put OI), but today’s option volume is effectively absent (volume put-call ratio 0.0; total volume 0), so there’s little real-time sentiment confirmation. Volatility is extremely elevated: 30D IV ~287% with IV percentile ~96.6 (very high vs its own history), which often reflects biotech event risk and can coincide with sharp moves. Elevated IV without fresh news can also mean the market is pricing uncertainty while spot continues to drift lower.
Technical Summary
Sell
11
Buy
4
Positive Catalysts
Analyst-viewed ‘mispriced asset’ narrative: H.C. Wainwright reiterated Buy and argued RNAC’s valuation is disproportionate to potential, highlighting a registration-aligned Phase 3 path and a large myasthenia gravis population. BTIG reiterated Buy and raised its target after positive Phase 2 Descartes-08 data in SLE (strong response/remission figures), supporting platform credibility. Financial trend improvement in 2025/Q3 (loss narrowed materially YoY) can help sentiment at the margin.
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
with bearish MA stack and worsening MACD suggests downside continuation risk. The company remains loss-making (2025/Q3 net income -$35.9M; EPS -1.38), typical for development-stage biotech but a headwind without near-term catalysts. Extremely high implied volatility signals meaningful uncertainty and can coincide with sharp drawdowns. Pattern-based projection also leans negative over the next week (~-6.24%).
Financial Performance
Latest quarter: 2025/Q3. Revenue rose to $452K (+16.80% YoY), but the business is still pre-commercial. Net income improved to -$35.902M (48.46% improvement YoY, i.e., a narrower loss), and EPS improved to -1.38 (+22.12% YoY). Gross margin is listed at 100% (flat YoY), which is not very informative at this revenue scale; the key takeaway is improving loss trend, but continued cash burn risk remains until major clinical/regulatory milestones.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent analyst trend is positive overall, with price targets remaining very high versus the current price despite one notable trim. On 2025-11-19, H.C. Wainwright lowered its target to $30 from $40 but kept a Buy, framing RNAC as deeply mispriced with a high-likelihood, registration-aligned Phase 3 path in MG. On 2025-11-14, BTIG raised its target to $44 from $42 and kept a Buy after strong Phase 2 SLE data (even though management planned to pause SLE and shift focus to myositis). Wall Street pros: large upside optionality tied to clinical/regulatory success and perceived valuation disconnect. Cons: execution risk, development prioritization shifts, and the stock’s current bearish trading action suggesting the market is not rewarding the story near-term.
Wall Street analysts forecast RNAC stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for RNAC is 35 USD with a low forecast of 16 USD and a high forecast of 44 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
8 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast RNAC stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for RNAC is 35 USD with a low forecast of 16 USD and a high forecast of 44 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
6 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 6.980
Low
16
Averages
35
High
44
Current: 6.980
Low
16
Averages
35
High
44
H.C. Wainwright
H.C. Wainwright
Buy
downgrade
$40 -> $30
AI Analysis
2025-11-19
Reason
H.C. Wainwright
H.C. Wainwright
Price Target
$40 -> $30
AI Analysis
2025-11-19
downgrade
Buy
Reason
H.C. Wainwright lowered the firm's price target on Cartesian Therapeutics to $30 from $40 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm says Cartesian one of the most "mispriced assets" it has "seen in years." It is "highly unusual for a registration-aligned Phase 3 program with high likelihood of approvability to trade" at a $50M enterprise value, the analyst tells investors in a research note. H.C. Wainwright says that with 100,000 myasthenia gravis patients in the domestic population and a market "rapidly shifting to immunology agents that offer durable disease control," it sees Cartesian's current valuation as "disproportionate to the commercial opportunity and the degree of clinical risk-mitigation."
BTIG
Buy
maintain
$42 -> $44
2025-11-14
Reason
BTIG
Price Target
$42 -> $44
2025-11-14
maintain
Buy
Reason
BTIG raised the firm's price target on Cartesian Therapeutics to $44 from $42 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm cites the company's positive results disclosed from the Phase 2 trial of Descartes-08 in systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE, showing a 100% lupus low disease activity state response and 67% disease remission, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Following these Phase 2 results, the company plans to pause development of Descartes-08 in SLE and shift focus to initiating a Phase 2 trial in myositis, with strong mechanistic alignment based on SLE and MG clinical data, the firm added.
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