Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Stock Price Up 7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Centessa shares jumped 7% on Thursday to about $30.20 (intraday high $30.44) on volume of ~1.285 million shares, slightly below the average session volume.
• Analysts are broadly positive with a consensus "Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.80, after fresh coverage and upgrades (Wolfe Research "outperform"; Oppenheimer raised its target to $62).
• There has been notable insider selling82.01%).

Centessa Pharmaceuticals PLC Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:CNTA - Get Free Report) shares shot up 7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $30.44 and last traded at $30.2040. 1,284,857 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 1,411,158 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CNTA. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.80.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.3%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.93. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of -16.09 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 10.56, a quick ratio of 10.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 73,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $1,927,250.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 65,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,735,805.25. This represents a 52.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Iqbal J. Hussain sold 38,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.15, for a total transaction of $979,617.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 57,645 shares in the company, valued at $1,449,771.75. This represents a 40.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 307,997 shares of company stock worth $8,192,203. 7.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNTA. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 7,580.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knott David M Jr bought a new stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $100,000. Institutional investors 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.