Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Truist Financial

Key Points

• Truist Financial downgraded Centessa from a "buy" to a "hold" and set a $38 target (about a 3.75% downside); the street consensus is a Hold with an average target of $40 (5 Buy, 8 Hold, 1 Sell).
• Shares trade near $39.48 (52‑week range $10.87–$40.26) with a $6.1B market cap, and the company missed quarterly EPS at ($0.48) vs. ($0.38) expected while analysts forecast roughly -1.6 EPS for the year.
• Insiders sold 349,073 shares totaling about $9.43M in the last quarter (insiders now own 7.09%), signaling significant insider selling activity.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Truist Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $38.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial's target price points to a potential downside of 3.75% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on CNTA. Stephens lowered Centessa Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Leerink Partners lowered Centessa Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Centessa Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.00.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CNTA opened at $39.48 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.86 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 8.57, a current ratio of 8.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Centessa Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $10.87 and a 52-week high of $40.26. The business's 50 day moving average is $28.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.20.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.38) by ($0.10). Research analysts predict that Centessa Pharmaceuticals will post -1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Iqbal J. Hussain sold 38,951 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.15, for a total transaction of $979,617.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 57,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,449,771.75. The trade was a 40.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 73,196 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $1,927,250.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 65,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,735,805.25. The trade was a 52.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 349,073 shares of company stock worth $9,429,412. Corporate insiders own 7.09% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNTA. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 7,580.0% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,536 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,387 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Finally, Knott David M Jr purchased a new position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc is a global clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative therapies across multiple disease areas. The company operates a modular R&D network, bringing together a portfolio of independent, specialist research entities under a single corporate umbrella. This structure is designed to accelerate decision‐making and resource allocation while leveraging deep scientific expertise in each therapeutic domain.

Centessa’s pipeline spans oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, as well as rare genetic disorders.

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