Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) Now Covered by Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $43 price target, implying roughly an 80.98% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $43.13, but opinions are mixed — price targets range from $38 to $60 and include at least one sell rating.
• Shares trade near $23.76 (12‑month range $6.41–$32.63) with a $1.07B market cap; the company is currently loss-making and insiders have sold about 78,453 shares (~$2.19M) in the past three months.

Research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Friday. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price target suggests a potential upside of 80.98% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Septerna in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Septerna from $28.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Septerna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Septerna from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Septerna in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.13.

Septerna Price Performance

Shares of SEPN opened at $23.76 on Friday. Septerna has a 12 month low of $6.41 and a 12 month high of $32.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $25.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.34. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.41 and a beta of 3.50.

Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.01). Septerna had a negative net margin of 106.37% and a negative return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Septerna will post -1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Elizabeth Bhatt sold 4,000 shares of Septerna stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.34, for a total transaction of $97,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 174,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,240,247.06. This trade represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Samira Shaikhly sold 70,453 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total value of $1,979,729.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 793 shares in the company, valued at $22,283.30. This trade represents a 98.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 78,453 shares of company stock valued at $2,192,969. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SEPN. Group One Trading LLC grew its holdings in Septerna by 111.8% in the 4th quarter. Group One Trading LLC now owns 944 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 8,955 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Septerna during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Septerna in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Septerna in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Septerna in the fourth quarter worth $61,000.

Septerna Company Profile

We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new era of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) oral small molecule drug discovery powered by our proprietary Native Complex Platform™. Our industrial-scale platform aims to unlock the full potential of GPCR therapies and has led to the discovery and development of our deep pipeline of product candidates focused initially on treating patients in three therapeutic areas: endocrinology, immunology and inflammation, and metabolic diseases. GPCRs are the largest and most diverse family of cell membrane receptors and regulate physiological processes in nearly every organ system of the human body.

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