Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Shares Down 6.2% After Insider Selling

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:CNTA) was down 6.2% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $15.53 and last traded at $15.56. Approximately 317,849 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 393,548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.58.

Specifically, CEO Saurabh Saha sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.53, for a total value of $909,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 721,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,933,403.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.17.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $12.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.94 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 13.29 and a current ratio of 13.29.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.02). As a group, equities research analysts expect that Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNTA. First Light Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $33,923,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 438.0% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,996,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,024,000 after buying an additional 1,625,000 shares during the last quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 333.2% in the fourth quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 2,060,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,398,000 after buying an additional 1,584,500 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 89.5% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,092,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,891,000 after buying an additional 987,997 shares during the period. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC boosted its position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 27.6% during the second quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 3,933,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,518,000 after acquiring an additional 850,000 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and delivers medicines to patients. Its pipeline products include SerpinPC, an activated protein C inhibitor, which is in Phase IIa clinical development for the treatment of hemophilia A and B; and ORX750, an orally administered OX2R agonist for the treatment of NT1 with potential expansion into other sleep disorders.