Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Crescent Biopharma “Moderate Buy” overall: Two analysts recommend buying and two strongly recommend buying, compared with one hold and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $29.60, above the stock’s reported $19.68 opening price.
• CBIO remains an unprofitable development-stage biopharma: The company reported quarterly EPS of negative $0.74, in line with estimates, while analysts expect a full-year loss of approximately $2.91 per share.
• Institutional ownership is substantial, while insiders recently sold shares: Institutions and hedge funds own 75.19% of the stock, with several investors adding or initiating positions. Executives sold shares under pre-arranged plans to cover tax withholding, and insiders retain a 24.84% ownership stake.

Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.60.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Crescent Biopharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Crescent Biopharma Stock Performance

Shares of CBIO opened at $19.68 on Tuesday. Crescent Biopharma has a 52 week low of $8.72 and a 52 week high of $27.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $730.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.93 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.08 and a 200-day moving average of $17.32.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.74). As a group, equities analysts forecast that Crescent Biopharma will post -2.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crescent Biopharma news, COO Jonathan McNeill sold 20,549 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total transaction of $369,676.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 139,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,503,452.42. This trade represents a 12.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Joshua Brumm sold 42,305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total transaction of $761,066.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 281,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,059,003.88. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 68,156 shares of company stock valued at $1,226,126 in the last three months. Insiders own 24.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CBIO. BVF Inc. IL grew its stake in Crescent Biopharma by 98.1% during the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,748,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $32,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360,900 shares during the period. Fcpm Iii Services B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,899,000. Opaleye Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Crescent Biopharma by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 1,319,351 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $23,748,000 after buying an additional 6,736 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,892,000. Finally, NEXTBio Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Crescent Biopharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,422,000. 75.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Crescent Biopharma

Crescent Biopharma, Inc NASDAQ: CBIO is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative therapies for the treatment of serious diseases. The company's activities center on research, preclinical development and clinical evaluation of investigational drug candidates.

Crescent Biopharma does not appear to have commercially marketed products. Its pipeline consists of experimental therapies intended to address significant unmet medical needs, although detailed information about specific candidates, therapeutic areas and development stages may be limited in publicly available sources.

The company is headquartered in the United States and serves the biopharmaceutical market through its drug-development programs and potential future partnerships.

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