Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:CNTA) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $35.00. The stock had previously closed at $16.99, but opened at $17.50. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Centessa Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $17.16, with a volume of 32,375 shares trading hands.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.60.

Insider Activity at Centessa Pharmaceuticals

In other Centessa Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction of $2,891,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 776,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,834,784.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Centessa Pharmaceuticals news, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 25,000 shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Saurabh Saha sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.52, for a total transaction of $2,891,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 776,924 shares in the company, valued at $12,834,784.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 216,873 shares of company stock valued at $3,472,000. Corporate insiders own 11.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $114,000. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,115,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,882,000 after buying an additional 283,469 shares during the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 381,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,033,000 after acquiring an additional 43,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Octagon Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 333.2% during the 4th quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 2,060,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584,500 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.96 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 13.29 and a quick ratio of 13.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.48.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) last announced 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). On average, analysts forecast that Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.