Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:CNTA) Short Interest Up 37.3% in November

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:CNTA) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,350,000 shares, a growth of 37.3% from the November 15th total of 2,440,000 shares. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 680,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ CNTA traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.57. 873,593 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,306. Centessa Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $6.65 and a 52 week high of $18.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.83 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 21.52, a quick ratio of 21.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.30.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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, September 19th. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 11,742 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 183,266 shares in the company, valued at $2,818,631.08. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Saurabh Saha sold 87,496 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,626,702.06. The trade was a 13.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 262,624 shares of company stock valued at $4,497,698 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNTA. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,305,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,145,823 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 68.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,000 after purchasing an additional 23,058 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $2,834,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,609,000. 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.