Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Centessa Pharmaceuticals has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a negative outlook on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, some analysts remain optimistic, with Guggenheim maintaining a "buy" rating and setting a price target of $28.00.
• Recent insider trading shows significant stock sales, with two insiders selling a combined total of over $300,000 worth of shares, indicating potential concern among company executives.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centessa Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.38.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

CNTA opened at $23.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 10.11 and a quick ratio of 10.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.86 and a beta of 1.57. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $20.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.86. Centessa Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $9.60 and a 1 year high of $24.57.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.03). As a group, analysts anticipate that Centessa Pharmaceuticals will post -1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Centessa Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Mario Alberto Accardi sold 8,172 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.40, for a total transaction of $174,880.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 197,394 shares in the company, valued at $4,224,231.60. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Iqbal J. Hussain sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.41, for a total value of $134,460.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 105,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,361,700.26. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 211,286 shares of company stock worth $4,127,805. Company insiders own 7.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNTA. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 35.8% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 6,954,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,999,000 after buying an additional 1,834,973 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $16,052,000. Commodore Capital LP increased its position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 39.3% in the second quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 3,298,289 shares of the company's stock worth $43,340,000 after purchasing an additional 930,711 shares during the last quarter. Stempoint Capital LP increased its position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 113.3% in the second quarter. Stempoint Capital LP now owns 1,265,672 shares of the company's stock worth $16,631,000 after purchasing an additional 672,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth approximately $6,730,000. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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