Crescent Biopharma's (CBIO) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at HC Wainwright

Key Points

• HC Wainwright reiterated a “Buy” rating on Crescent Biopharma and maintained a $36 price target, implying 204.05% upside from the stock’s $11.84 opening price. The consensus rating is also “Buy,” with an average target of $32.40.
• Crescent Biopharma reported quarterly EPS of -$0.74, in line with estimates, while analysts expect a full-year EPS loss of $2.93. The stock has traded between $8.72 and $27.41 over the past year.
• Institutional investors own approximately 75.19% of CBIO, including a new $22.9 million position from BlackRock. Company insiders sold shares primarily to cover tax obligations from vested equity awards, reducing insider ownership by roughly 2.8% in the reported transactions.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $36.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. HC Wainwright's price target indicates a potential upside of 204.05% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on CBIO. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Monday, September 14th. TD Cowen upgraded Crescent Biopharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Crescent Biopharma presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $32.40.

Crescent Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CBIO opened at $11.84 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $439.74 million, a PE ratio of -1.76 and a beta of 1.27. Crescent Biopharma has a 1 year low of $8.72 and a 1 year high of $27.41. The firm's 50-day moving average is $16.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.78.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.74). Analysts expect that Crescent Biopharma will post -2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Crescent Biopharma

In other Crescent Biopharma news, COO Jonathan McNeill sold 3,839 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total value of $64,149.69. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 134,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,248,965.48. This represents a 2.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Joshua Brumm sold 7,837 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total transaction of $130,956.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,765 shares in the company, valued at $4,541,193.15. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 16,726 shares of company stock valued at $285,501 in the last quarter. 24.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crescent Biopharma

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CBIO. Stonepine Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $720,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Crescent Biopharma during the first quarter worth about $2,810,000. Exome Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Crescent Biopharma in the first quarter valued at about $2,814,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Crescent Biopharma in the second quarter valued at about $22,892,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $824,000. 75.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crescent Biopharma Company Profile