Sagimet Biosciences (NASDAQ:SGMT) Stock Falls 6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Sagimet Biosciences shares fell 6% to approximately $8.60 in below-average trading volume, bringing the company’s market capitalization to about $536.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: nine analysts rate the stock Buy, one rates it Hold and two rate it Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $26.63.
• The company missed its latest quarterly EPS estimate, reporting a loss of $0.26 per share versus expectations of $0.25, while insiders have sold 113,646 shares worth roughly $920,491 over the past 90 days.

Sagimet Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SGMT - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 6% on Monday. The stock traded as low as $8.71 and last traded at $8.5950. Approximately 231,892 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 1,194,630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on SGMT shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Sagimet Biosciences in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Sagimet Biosciences from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised Sagimet Biosciences from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $8.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sagimet Biosciences from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Sagimet Biosciences in a report on Friday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sagimet Biosciences currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.63.

Sagimet Biosciences Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $536.88 million, a PE ratio of -6.73 and a beta of 3.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.77.

Sagimet Biosciences (NASDAQ:SGMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.25) by ($0.01). As a group, equities analysts predict that Sagimet Biosciences Inc. will post -1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director George Kemble sold 20,206 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.95, for a total value of $201,049.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 62,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at $618,501.95. This trade represents a 24.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Elizabeth Rozek sold 10,545 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.76, for a total value of $81,829.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 224,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,741,452.64. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,646 shares of company stock worth $920,491. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Sagimet Biosciences by 99.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 271,217 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 135,178 shares during the period. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Sagimet Biosciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,119,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Sagimet Biosciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,551,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sagimet Biosciences by 82.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 625,469 shares of the company's stock worth $3,268,000 after purchasing an additional 282,969 shares during the period. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new position in Sagimet Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $618,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sagimet Biosciences

Sagimet Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines that target fatty acid synthase (FASN), an enzyme involved in the production of fatty acids. The company's research is aimed at treating diseases associated with abnormal lipid metabolism and excess fat production.

Sagimet's lead investigational product is denifanstat, an oral, selective FASN inhibitor formerly known as TVB-2640. The company is evaluating denifanstat primarily for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a chronic liver disease that can involve inflammation, fat accumulation and fibrosis.

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