Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) Shares Climb 10.2% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Crescent Biopharma shares rose 10.2% to approximately $13.62, though trading volume was 83% below the daily average.
• Analyst sentiment is largely positive: the stock has a consensus “Buy” rating and a $33.00 average price target, despite one “Sell” rating.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.74 per share, in line with estimates, while insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged plans to cover tax obligations.

Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO - Get Free Report) rose 10.2% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $13.40 and last traded at $13.6240. Approximately 50,417 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 300,915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CBIO. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen upgraded Crescent Biopharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a report on Monday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Crescent Biopharma Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $498.05 million, a P/E ratio of -2.00 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.73.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.74). On average, equities analysts anticipate that Crescent Biopharma, Inc. will post -2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crescent Biopharma news, CEO Joshua T. Brumm sold 7,837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total transaction of $130,956.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,541,193.15. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 3,839 shares of Crescent Biopharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total value of $64,149.69. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 134,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,248,965.48. The trade was a 2.77% 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 three months, insiders sold 16,726 shares of company stock worth $285,501. 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 modified their holdings of CBIO. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the second quarter worth $38,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its stake in Crescent Biopharma by 53.4% during the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 17,800 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 6,200 shares during the period. Opaleye Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $23,748,000 after acquiring an additional 6,736 shares during the last quarter. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Crescent Biopharma during the first quarter valued at approximately $187,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Crescent Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $197,000. 75.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crescent Biopharma Company Profile

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