# Candel Therapeutics, Inc. (CADL)

> Source: Nexqual · https://nexqual.com/CADL · data as of 2026-10-29 20:00 UTC · cite as "Nexqual, Candel Therapeutics, Inc. (CADL), nexqual.com/CADL" · informational, not investment advice.

**Price:** USD 8.65 (-0.23% on the day) · last close of Oct 29, 2026; US market closed, not a live price. Prev close 8.67 · day 8.55–8.93 · 52w 4.35–14 · market cap $662M · NGM

## Key facts
- Insider open-market sales, last ~7 months: 4 Form 4 filings, $3.6M; 0 not under a Rule 10b5-1 plan ($0K); 0 by opportunistic insiders, 0 by routine insiders (three-year test, Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski 2012).
- Analysts: Buy (mean 2.00 on a 1–5 scale) (10 analysts), mean target USD 22.11 (range 15–29).
- Total return with dividends: 1Y +55.4% vs S&P 500 +14.8%; 5Y -23.0% vs S&P 500 +79.1%.
- Next earnings: 2026-11-12 (date not yet confirmed by the company), EPS estimate USD -0.31, revenue estimate $0K. All companies reporting that day: https://nexqual.com/earnings/2026-11-12
- Dividend: CADL paid no cash dividend in the last five years.
- Short interest: 21.46% of float (as of 2026-10-15), 12.2 days to cover.

## Financials (SEC 10-K; TTM = last four 10-Q/10-K quarters)
| USD | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $125K | $125K | — | — | — | — |
| Operating income | -$25.7M | -$34.7M | -$38.4M | -$33.4M | -$48.3M | -$72.0M |
| Net income | -$36.1M | -$18.8M | -$37.9M | -$55.2M | -$38.2M | -$88.5M |
| EPS (diluted) | -$1.91 | -$0.65 | -$1.31 | -$1.74 | -$0.72 | — |
| Free cash flow | -$24.1M | -$32.7M | -$34.7M | -$27.0M | -$38.9M | -$57.3M |
| Operating margin | -20580.8% | -27777.6% | — | — | — | — |
| Net margin | -28899.2% | -15035.2% | — | — | — | — |
| Revenue growth | +0.0% | +0.0% | — | — | — | — |
| Cash + short-term investments | $82.6M | $70.1M | $35.4M | $103M | $120M | — |
| Total debt | $560K | — | $20.5M | $11.6M | — | — |
Fiscal years end Dec. EPS is split-adjusted.

## Valuation (price ÷ last four quarters, through Jun 30, 2026)
P/B 5.3x · FCF yield -8.66% · Earnings yield -13.38%

## Insider sales (SEC Form 4, open-market, last ~7 months)
4 of 4 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan (scheduled in advance). Unplanned sales were timed by the insider.
| Trade date | Insider | Role | Shares | Value | % of holdings sold | 10b5-1 plan | Insider type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-10…2026-09-11 | Tak Paul Peter | Chief Executive Officer | 280,245 | $3.2M | 71.2% | Yes | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-08-17 | Tyagarajan Seshu | Chief Technology Officer | 7,000 | $84K | 8.3% | Yes | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-06-29 | Barone Francesca | Chief Scientific Officer | 23,447 | $236K | 23.3% | Yes | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-06-29 | Tyagarajan Seshu | Chief Technology Officer | 7,000 | $70K | 7.7% | Yes | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
% of holdings sold = shares sold ÷ (shares sold + all holdings the insider reported on that Form 4, direct and through trusts).
Insider type follows Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski (Journal of Finance, 2012). An insider who traded the stock in the same calendar month in each of the past three years is a routine trader; one who traded in each of those years without such a pattern is an opportunistic trader. In their study, trades by opportunistic insiders predicted future returns and trades by routine insiders did not. Counts open-market purchases and sales only (SEC Form 4 codes P and S) by that insider in that company. Not investment advice.

## Analysts
Consensus Buy (mean 2.00 on a 1–5 scale), 10 analysts; mean target USD 22.11 (low 15, high 29).
Rating changes, last 120 days:
| Date | Firm | Action | Rating | Price target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-22 | Jefferies | Initiated | Buy | $25 |
| 2026-09-21 | B of A Securities | Upgrade | Neutral → Buy | $12 → $18 |
| 2026-08-14 | B of A Securities | Target raised | Neutral | $9 → $12 |
| 2026-08-13 | HC Wainwright & Co. | Reiterated | Buy | $23 |
| 2026-07-13 | Stifel | Initiated | Buy | $22 |

## Total return (dividends reinvested)
|  | 1Y (from 2025-10-30) | 5Y (from 2021-10-25) |
|---|---|---|
| Total return | +55.4% | -23.0% |
| S&P 500 (SPY) | +14.8% | +79.1% |
| Per year | +55.8% | -5.1% |
| Volatility (annualized) | 69.5% | 110.1% |
| Max drawdown | -43.4% (Aug 2026→Oct 2026) | -94.0% (Oct 2021→Oct 2023) |

## Dividends
CADL paid no cash dividend in the last five years.

## Short interest
12,772,884 shares sold short, 21.46% of the float, as of Oct 15, 2026 (exchange short-interest report, published about twice a month). Prior report (Sep 15, 2026): 12,344,649 shares (+3.5%). Days to cover: 12.2 (short shares ÷ average daily volume).

## Peers (Biotechnology)
ORKA (Oruka Therapeutics, Inc.) USD 96.65 +0.71% · LGND (Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorpor) USD 317.33 -0.45% · IOVA (Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc.) USD 9.56 -35.45% · IONS (Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) USD 44.39 -1.14% · AXSM (Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.) USD 143.45 -0.04% · ABVX (Abivax SA) USD 89.06 -0.87%

## More
Full page: https://nexqual.com/CADL · Free keyless MCP server with the same data and citations: https://mcp.nexqual.com/mcp · Guide for agents: https://nexqual.com/agents · https://nexqual.com/llms.txt

## Supply chain and relationships (SEC annual reports)

Named in CADL's own 10-K filed 2026-03-12 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1841387/000119312526103134/cadl-20251231.htm):

| Relationship | Company | Sentence in the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Partner | Periphagen | "Under the license agreement, Periphagen granted us a worldwide exclusive license with the right to grant sublicenses through multiple tiers under the Licensed IP Rights to conduct research and to develop, make, have made…" |
| Partner | Jefferies | "We simultaneously entered into a sales agreement with Jefferies LLC, as sales agent, to provide for the issuance and sale by us of up to $75.0 million of our common stock from time to time in "at-the-market" offerings un…" |
| Partner | Ventagen | "On March 1, 2014, we entered into an exclusive license agreement (the Ventagen Agreement), with Ventagen, LLC (Ventagen)." |
| Partner | Trinity Capital Inc. (TRIN) | "Interest expense primarily consists of interest expense on our debt under our Loan and Security Agreement with Trinity and our Loan Agreement with SVB." |
| Partner | WuXi | "Any additional executive action, legislative action or potential sanctions with China could materially impact one of our current partners, WuXi, and our agreement with them as it relates to our stability testing, or any …" |

## Company outlook (8-K filed 2026-08-13)

- "Based on current operating plans, the Company expects that its existing cash and cash equivalents, as of June 30, 2026, will be sufficient to fund operations into Q1 2028."

## Analyst estimates and revisions

| Period | EPS est. | 90d ago | Change | Revenue est. | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current quarter (ends 2026-09-30) | $-0.31 | $0.00 | −$0.31 | $0 | 2 |
| Next quarter (ends 2026-12-31) | $-0.33 | $0.00 | −$0.33 | $0 | 2 |
| Current fiscal year (ends 2026-12-31) | $-1.08 | $-0.87 | −$0.21 | $0 | 3 |
| Next fiscal year (ends 2027-12-31) | $-0.63 | $0.22 | −$0.84 | $41.9M | 2 |

## Earnings history and stock reaction
| Results filed | Quarter | EPS | Consensus | Surprise | Stock reaction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 | −$0.36 | −$0.23 | Miss −56.5% | — |
| — | Quarter ended Mar 31, 2026 | −$0.14 | −$0.33 | Beat +57.6% | — |
| — | Quarter ended Dec 31, 2025 | −$0.29 | −$0.23 | Miss −26.1% | — |
| — | Quarter ended Sep 30, 2025 | −$0.23 | −$0.16 | Miss −43.8% | — |
EPS as reported against the analyst consensus before the release; surprise uses the cent-rounded figures shown (in dollars when EPS and consensus have opposite signs). Stock reaction = close before the results to close after (the first close following a release after the bell or before the open).

## Recent SEC filings (last 120 days)
| Filed | Form | What it says | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-10 | 8-K | Director or executive officer change, or pay arrangement; Regulation FD disclosure — “On September 6, 2026, the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Candel Therapeutics, Inc. (the "Company") increased the size of the Board from ten (10) to eleven (11) directors and unanimously appointed Martine Zimmermann, Pharm.D, to fill the newly created vacancy on the Board, effective September 8, 2026. Upon her appointment, Dr. Zimmermann became a member of the slate of Class III directors with terms expiring at the 2027 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the Company. The Board has determined that Dr. Zimmermann…” | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1841387/000119312526387310/0001193125-26-387310-index.htm |
| 2026-09-09 | 8-K | Regulation FD disclosure | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1841387/000119312526386561/0001193125-26-386561-index.htm |
| 2026-08-13 | 10-Q | Quarterly report · period ended Jun 30, 2026 | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1841387/000119312526347980/0001193125-26-347980-index.htm |
| 2026-08-13 | 8-K | Quarterly results | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1841387/000119312526347957/0001193125-26-347957-index.htm |
| 2026-07-27 | Schedule 13G | BlackRock, Inc.: 6.6% of shares, passive 5%+ holder | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1841387/000201238326002278/0002012383-26-002278-index.htm |
Source: SEC EDGAR. Quotes are the opening words of each item as filed.