Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:CNTA) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Saturday . The company traded as high as $18.77 and last traded at $18.67, with a volume of 690784 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 21.52, a current ratio of 21.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $16.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.20 and a beta of 1.52.

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

Insider Transactions at Centessa Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Saurabh Saha sold 87,496 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.46, for a total transaction of $1,615,176.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 575,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,626,702.06. The trade was a 13.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 11,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.38, for a total transaction of $180,591.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 183,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,818,631.08. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 437,624 shares of company stock worth $7,388,698 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.59% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 103.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 47.8% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 9,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 3,108 shares during the period. Sandia Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $90,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $99,000. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.