Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Oppenheimer

Key Points

• Oppenheimer has initiated coverage on Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) with an "outperform" rating and a price target of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 141.55% from its current price.
• Despite the positive outlook from Oppenheimer, some analysts have issued mixed ratings, with Chardan Capital setting a target of $30.00 and Wall Street Zen downgrading it to a "sell" rating.
• Centessa Pharmaceuticals has recently reported a loss of $0.38 EPS for the quarter, slightly missing analysts' expectations of a loss of $0.35 EPS while the average target price among analysts stands at $31.50.

Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA - Free Report) in a report issued on Friday. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock.

CNTA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Chardan Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $31.45.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Centessa Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $1.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $15.37. 1,603,242 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 963,471. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.52 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 10.11, a quick ratio of 10.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Centessa Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $9.60 and a twelve month high of $19.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.46.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Equities analysts expect that Centessa Pharmaceuticals will post -1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Centessa Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel Iqbal J. Hussain sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $103,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 105,386 shares in the company, valued at $1,815,800.78. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.56, for a total transaction of $155,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 122,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,902,661.24. This trade represents a 7.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 171,322 shares of company stock valued at $2,472,814. 7.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 1,509.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 61,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 57,925 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $162,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $171,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $471,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,092,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,714,000 after buying an additional 13,046 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.