Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TERN) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus "Hold" rating on Terns (14 firms: 1 sell, 9 hold, 3 buy, 1 strong buy) with a 12‑month average target of $56.30, and several brokers (Truist, Leerink, William Blair, BMO, Citizens) recently downgraded their ratings to hold.
• Insiders sold 98,857 shares (~$3.85M) in the last quarter—including CEO Amy Burroughs (14,583 shares at $46.71)—while institutional ownership is very high at 98.26%, with major funds like Morgan Stanley, Adage and Vanguard increasing stakes.

Shares of Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TERN - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.30.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TERN. Truist Financial lowered Terns Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $56.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Leerink Partners lowered Terns Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. William Blair lowered Terns Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp lowered Terns Pharmaceuticals from a "market outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded Terns Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th.

Insider Transactions at Terns Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Emil Kuriakose sold 942 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.75, for a total value of $49,690.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 105,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,250.75. This represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Amy L. Burroughs sold 14,583 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.71, for a total value of $681,171.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 288,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,498,068.96. This represents a 4.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 98,857 shares of company stock valued at $3,850,896 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Terns Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Terns Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,945,608 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,003,000 after purchasing an additional 356,513 shares during the last quarter. Commodore Capital LP bought a new stake in Terns Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $42,807,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in Terns Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 5,550,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Terns Pharmaceuticals by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,523,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,167,000 after purchasing an additional 964,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new stake in Terns Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $181,800,000. Institutional investors own 98.26% of the company's stock.

Terns Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of TERN opened at $52.56 on Friday. Terns Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $2.04 and a 12-month high of $53.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of -51.03 and a beta of -0.37. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $44.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.89.

Terns Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TERN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 2nd. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by $0.06. Analysts anticipate that Terns Pharmaceuticals will post -1.19 EPS for the current year.

About Terns Pharmaceuticals

Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing oral small‐molecule therapies for the treatment of chronic liver diseases and other serious conditions. The company's research and development efforts center on novel mechanisms of action designed to address the underlying causes of progressive liver disorders, including inflammation, fibrosis and metabolic dysregulation. By advancing targeted compounds that can be administered orally, Terns aims to offer patients more convenient and effective treatment options compared to injectable or biologic therapies.

The company's pipeline features several candidates in various stages of preclinical and clinical evaluation.

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