Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Stock Price Up 8.4% Following Earnings Beat

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:CNTA) shot up 8.4% during trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $18.55 and last traded at $18.42. 252,708 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 397,666 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.00.

The company reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target 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. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centessa Pharmaceuticals news, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 223,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,350,535. This trade represents a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Saurabh Saha sold 175,000 shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 776,924 shares in the company, valued at $12,834,784.48. The trade was a 18.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 325,031 shares of company stock valued at $5,213,043. 11.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Light Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 4,780,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778,515 shares during the period. Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 3,933,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,518,000 after acquiring an additional 850,000 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,958,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,427,000 after acquiring an additional 418,615 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,916,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,635,000 after acquiring an additional 129,300 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 89.5% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,092,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,891,000 after acquiring an additional 987,997 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.2 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $15.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.44 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 13.29, a quick ratio of 13.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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.