Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating on Crescent Biopharma, based on five ratings, with an average 12-month price target of $29.40 versus the stock’s $16.30 opening price.
• Institutional investors own 75.19% of CBIO, with several funds initiating or expanding positions; BVF Inc. nearly doubled its stake during the latest reported period.
• Crescent Biopharma’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, reporting a loss of $0.70 per share versus the anticipated $0.85 loss and revenue of $1.04 million versus estimates of $0.36 million. Insiders sold shares under pre-arranged plans to cover tax obligations.

Shares of Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.40.

Several research firms recently commented on CBIO. Weiss Ratings raised Crescent Biopharma from a "sell (e)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Thursday, July 16th.

Insider Activity at Crescent Biopharma

In other news, CEO Joshua T. Brumm sold 42,305 shares of Crescent Biopharma stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total value of $761,066.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 281,212 shares in the company, valued at $5,059,003.88. The trade was a 13.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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, COO Jonathan Mcneill sold 20,549 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total transaction of $369,676.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 139,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,503,452.42. The trade was a 12.87% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,156 shares of company stock valued at $1,226,126. Insiders own 24.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Crescent Biopharma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBIO. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Crescent Biopharma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,810,000. NEXTBio Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Crescent Biopharma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,422,000. Fcpm Iii Services B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,899,000. BVF Inc. IL increased its holdings in shares of Crescent Biopharma by 98.1% during the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,748,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crescent Biopharma by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 91,079 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 21,945 shares in the last quarter. 75.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crescent Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CBIO opened at $16.30 on Monday. Crescent Biopharma has a twelve month low of $8.72 and a twelve month high of $27.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.68. The company has a market capitalization of $449.23 million, a PE ratio of -1.49 and a beta of 1.20.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.70) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.36 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Crescent Biopharma will post -3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crescent Biopharma Company Profile

Crescent Biopharma, Inc NASDAQ: CBIO is a clinical‐stage immuno‐oncology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for patients with solid tumors. The company's research strategy centers on combination approaches that enhance anti‐tumor immune responses by simultaneously targeting multiple pathways implicated in immune evasion and tumor growth.

The company's lead candidate, CPB-201, is a bifunctional fusion protein designed to block programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) while neutralizing transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), with the goal of restoring T-cell activity and reducing tumor fibrosis.

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