Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Shares Down 3.2% – Should You Sell?

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:CNTA) dropped 3.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $15.71 and last traded at $15.82. Approximately 53,851 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 429,427 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNTA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley raised Centessa Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $11.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.83.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.52 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 21.52 and a current ratio of 21.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.97.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.05. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc will post -1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Centessa Pharmaceuticals news, CTO Tia L. Bush sold 17,813 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $320,634.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 147,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,657,070. This represents a 10.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Saurabh Saha sold 22,205 shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.80, for a total value of $350,839.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 663,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,482,604.80. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 368,023 shares of company stock valued at $6,335,574. 11.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNTA. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 321,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,900,000 after purchasing an additional 92,524 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 935,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,444,000 after buying an additional 12,031 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $148,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 438.0% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,996,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,024,000 after buying an additional 1,625,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Light Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 59.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 4,780,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778,515 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 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.