MBX Biosciences (NASDAQ:MBX) Shares Up 12% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares rose 12% on Friday to $38.86 (intraday high $39.00) with 433,479 shares traded, below the average session volume of 581,235.
• Wall Street is largely positive: MBX has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $53.25 average price target, and notable upgrades include Guggenheim raising its target to $88.
• Insiders are increasing exposure—CEO P. Kent Hawryluk bought 18,500 shares at $28.41 and insiders own 52.19%—while the company posted a Q-quarter EPS of ($0.49) (beating estimates) and carries a market cap of $1.86 billion with a negative PE.

MBX Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBX - Get Free Report) shot up 12% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $39.00 and last traded at $38.8640. 433,479 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 581,235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MBX. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of MBX Biosciences from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of MBX Biosciences to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MBX Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MBX Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MBX Biosciences from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.25.

MBX Biosciences Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $30.98 and its 200 day moving average is $31.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of -16.23 and a beta of 0.78.

MBX Biosciences (NASDAQ:MBX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.64) by $0.15. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MBX Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO P. Kent Hawryluk bought 18,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.41 per share, with a total value of $525,585.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 486,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,829,334.57. This trade represents a 3.95% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 52.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in MBX Biosciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,396,000. Swiss National Bank acquired a new position in MBX Biosciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,325,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in MBX Biosciences by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 80,222 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,960 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new position in MBX Biosciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $8,787,000. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its stake in shares of MBX Biosciences by 128.6% during the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter.

About MBX Biosciences

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel precision peptide therapies for the treatment of endocrine and metabolic disorders. Our company was founded by global leaders with a transformative approach to peptide drug design and development. Leveraging this expertise, we designed our proprietary Precision Endocrine Peptide™, or PEPTM, platform to overcome the key limitations of unmodified and modified peptide therapies and to improve clinical outcomes and simplify disease management for patients.

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.