Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Trading Down 6.2% on Insider Selling

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:CNTA) shares fell 6.2% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $15.53 and last traded at $15.56. 317,849 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 393,548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.58.

Specifically, CEO Saurabh Saha sold 55,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.53, for a total transaction of $909,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 721,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,933,403.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CNTA. Guggenheim raised their price target on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, B. Riley assumed coverage on Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.17.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of -10.93 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $12.64 and a 200 day moving average of $10.73.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.02). Analysts predict that Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Sandia Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $99,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

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.