Sera Prognostics (NASDAQ:SERA) Shares Down 3.4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Sera Prognostics shares fell 3.4% to about $2.01 in low-volume trading, with a market capitalization of approximately $79.3 million.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.18 per share, missing estimates by $0.03, while revenue of $0.03 million came in below the $0.07 million consensus forecast.
• Analyst sentiment remains a consensus “Moderate Buy,” with a $5.50 average price target, although Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock and the CEO recently sold shares to cover tax obligations.

Sera Prognostics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SERA - Get Free Report) shares fell 3.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $1.97 and last traded at $2.01. Approximately 15,379 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 26,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SERA. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sera Prognostics from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Sera Prognostics in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5.50.

Sera Prognostics Trading Down 3.4%

The company has a market cap of $79.29 million, a PE ratio of -3.00 and a beta of 0.98. The business's 50 day moving average is $2.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.04.

Sera Prognostics (NASDAQ:SERA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.03). Sera Prognostics had a negative net margin of 47,475.72% and a negative return on equity of 46.71%. The business had revenue of $0.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.07 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sera Prognostics, Inc. will post -0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Zhenya Lindgardt sold 20,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.08, for a total transaction of $43,170.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 871,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,813,757.92. This represents a 2.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 27,755 shares of company stock worth $57,840 over the last three months. 11.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sera Prognostics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AWM Investment Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sera Prognostics in the second quarter valued at $377,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Sera Prognostics by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 602,277 shares of the company's stock worth $1,668,000 after purchasing an additional 100,366 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sera Prognostics during the 1st quarter worth about $193,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Sera Prognostics during the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sera Prognostics by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,217,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,725,000 after purchasing an additional 54,008 shares during the last quarter. 54.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sera Prognostics Company Profile

Sera Prognostics, Inc is a precision medicine company focused on improving pregnancy outcomes through proteomic testing. The company's flagship product, the PreTRM™ test, is a blood-based assay designed to assess a woman's risk of delivering prematurely by measuring specific protein biomarkers in maternal serum. By identifying patients at elevated risk for spontaneous preterm birth, Sera Prognostics aims to enable earlier interventions and tailored care plans that can reduce the incidence of neonatal complications associated with early delivery.

Since its founding in 2014 and subsequent initial public offering in 2020, Sera Prognostics has worked closely with clinical research networks and obstetric care providers across the United States to validate the clinical performance of its PreTRM test.

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