Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Trading 5.9% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:CNTA) traded up 5.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $18.67 and last traded at $18.52. 66,692 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 416,439 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.83.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of -12.10 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 21.52 and a current ratio of 21.52.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.05. Research analysts forecast that Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc will post -1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Saurabh Saha sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.52, for a total value of $2,891,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 776,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,834,784.48. This represents a 18.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 223,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,350,535. The trade was a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,128 shares of company stock worth $6,148,522. Corporate insiders own 11.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Light Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 59.2% in the second quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 4,780,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778,515 shares during the period. Perceptive Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 27.6% during the second quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 3,933,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,518,000 after buying an additional 850,000 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,916,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,635,000 after buying an additional 129,300 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 54.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,715,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,423,000 after buying an additional 953,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 99.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,302,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,360,000 after buying an additional 1,145,823 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

About Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and delivers medicines for patients. Its products pipeline includes SerpinPC, an activated protein C inhibitor for the treatment of hemophilia A and B; and ORX750, an orally administered OX2R agonist for the treatment of narcolepsy and other sleep disorders.