Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Centessa Pharmaceuticals' stock price gapped up from $15.73 to open at $16.70, ultimately last trading at $17.89 with a trading volume of 795,637 shares.
• Wall Street analysts have a generally positive outlook, with an average price target of $31.45 and multiple "buy" ratings from firms like Chardan Capital and Truist Financial.
• Insider activity includes significant sales, with insiders selling a total of 171,322 shares valued at approximately $2.47 million over the last three months.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals PLC Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:CNTA - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $15.73, but opened at $16.70. Centessa Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $17.89, with a volume of 795,637 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNTA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $31.45.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 17.7%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $15.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.32 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 10.11 and a quick ratio of 10.12.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.03). Sell-side analysts expect that Centessa Pharmaceuticals PLC Sponsored ADR will post -1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $103,380.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 105,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,815,800.78. This trade represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $15.56, for a total transaction of $155,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 122,279 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 171,322 shares of company stock worth $2,472,814 in the last three months. 7.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 15,209.5% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,215 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 3,194 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $47,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 1,414.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,302 shares of the company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 4,952 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $147,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

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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