Sagimet Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SGMT) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $25.34

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Twelve firms rate Sagimet Biosciences “Moderate Buy,” with nine buys, one hold and two sells. The consensus 12-month price target is $25.34, well above the stock’s $9.11 opening price.
• Institutional ownership remains high: Hedge funds and other institutions own 87.86% of SGMT, with Renaissance Technologies and Dimensional Fund Advisors significantly increasing their holdings and several funds initiating new positions.
• The company remains loss-making and volatile: Sagimet reported a quarterly loss of $0.26 per share, slightly worse than expectations, while its shares have traded between $4.50 and $11.45 over the past year. Insiders sold shares primarily to cover tax obligations tied to equity awards.

Shares of Sagimet Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SGMT - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.34.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SGMT shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sagimet Biosciences from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Barclays upgraded Sagimet Biosciences from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $8.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Sagimet Biosciences in a research note on Thursday. They set a "sell" rating and a $7.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Sagimet Biosciences in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Sagimet Biosciences from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sagimet Biosciences

In other news, insider Elizabeth Rozek sold 10,545 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.76, for a total transaction of $81,829.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 224,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,741,452.64. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO David Happel sold 64,051 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.76, for a total value of $497,035.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 741,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,754,583.20. This trade represents a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,646 shares of company stock worth $920,491. Insiders own 11.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sagimet Biosciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SGMT. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Sagimet Biosciences by 82.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 625,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,268,000 after buying an additional 282,969 shares during the last quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sagimet Biosciences in the 2nd quarter worth $3,119,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Sagimet Biosciences by 99.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 271,217 shares of the company's stock worth $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 135,178 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Sagimet Biosciences during the second quarter valued at about $1,551,000. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Sagimet Biosciences in the second quarter worth about $618,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Sagimet Biosciences Stock Down 12.6%

Shares of SGMT opened at $9.11 on Friday. Sagimet Biosciences has a twelve month low of $4.50 and a twelve month high of $11.45. The company has a market capitalization of $566.28 million, a P/E ratio of -7.12 and a beta of 3.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.55 and a 200 day moving average of $7.60.

Sagimet Biosciences (NASDAQ:SGMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.01). On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sagimet Biosciences will post -1.19 EPS for the current year.

Sagimet Biosciences Company Profile

Sagimet Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for diseases associated with abnormal lipid metabolism. The company's primary focus is fatty acid synthase (FASN), an enzyme involved in the production of fatty acids that can contribute to disease progression in certain metabolic and inflammatory conditions.

Sagimet's lead product candidate is denifanstat, formerly known as TVB-2640. Denifanstat is an orally administered, selective FASN inhibitor being evaluated primarily for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a chronic liver disease that can lead to fibrosis, cirrhosis and other serious complications.

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