Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Hold Rating for Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA)

Key Points

• Needham & Company reiterated a Hold on Centessa Pharmaceuticals, while other analysts range from Sell to Outperform and the MarketBeat consensus rates the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $40.00.
• Shares opened at $27.58 (down 3.9%) with a 12‑month range of $9.60–$30.58 and a market cap of $4.03 billion; the company posts a negative P/E (-15.07) but very strong liquidity (current/quick ratios ≈10.56).
• Insider selling has been significant—insiders sold 349,073 shares (~$9.43M) over the last 90 days and now own 7.09% of the company—while institutional ownership is high (82%) and several funds (e.g., Millennium, JPMorgan) recently increased stakes.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating restated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

CNTA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centessa Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.00.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $27.58 on Tuesday. Centessa Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $9.60 and a twelve month high of $30.58. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.07 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 10.56, a quick ratio of 10.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.12.

Insider Activity at Centessa Pharmaceuticals

In other Centessa Pharmaceuticals news, insider Karen M. Anderson sold 120,029 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.25, for a total transaction of $3,150,761.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 62,085 shares in the company, valued at $1,629,731.25. This trade represents a 65.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 73,196 shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total value of $1,927,250.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 65,925 shares in the company, valued at $1,735,805.25. This represents a 52.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 349,073 shares of company stock valued at $9,429,412. Insiders own 7.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 52.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 609,188 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,760,000 after purchasing an additional 210,737 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $2,176,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 44.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,435 shares of the company's stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 26,994 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 155.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,434 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,630,000 after buying an additional 260,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 29.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 98,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,291,000 after buying an additional 22,205 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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