TD Cowen Upgrades Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• TD Cowen upgraded Crescent Biopharma to “strong buy,” while analyst sentiment overall remains “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $30.25.
• Crescent Biopharma opened at $16.97 and has a market capitalization of approximately $630 million. The company reported quarterly EPS of -$0.74, in line with estimates, and analysts expect a full-year EPS loss of $2.91.
• Institutional investors own 75.19% of the company after several funds added or initiated positions, while insiders sold shares under pre-arranged plans primarily to cover tax obligations related to vested equity awards.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at TD Cowen to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a report on Friday, August 7th. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Crescent Biopharma currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.25.

Crescent Biopharma Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ CBIO opened at $16.97 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $630.27 million, a PE ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.37. Crescent Biopharma has a 12-month low of $8.72 and a 12-month high of $27.41.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.74). As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Crescent Biopharma will post -2.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crescent Biopharma news, COO Jonathan Mcneill sold 20,549 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total transaction of $369,676.51. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 139,158 shares in the company, valued at $2,503,452.42. This trade represents a 12.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 T. Brumm sold 42,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total value of $761,066.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 281,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,059,003.88. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their position. 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 68,156 shares of company stock valued at $1,226,126 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 24.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BVF Inc. IL boosted its holdings in Crescent Biopharma by 98.1% during the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,748,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360,900 shares during the period. Fcpm Iii Services B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the fourth quarter valued at about $19,899,000. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth about $17,790,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the second quarter worth about $22,892,000. Finally, Opaleye Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 4th quarter worth about $13,975,000. Institutional investors own 75.19% of the company's stock.

About Crescent Biopharma

Crescent Biopharma, Inc NASDAQ: CBIO is a clinical‐stage immuno‐oncology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for patients with solid tumors. The company's research strategy centers on combination approaches that enhance anti‐tumor immune responses by simultaneously targeting multiple pathways implicated in immune evasion and tumor growth.

The company's lead candidate, CPB-201, is a bifunctional fusion protein designed to block programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) while neutralizing transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), with the goal of restoring T-cell activity and reducing tumor fibrosis.

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