Terns Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TERN) Earns Market Perform Rating from Citizens Jmp

Key Points

• Merck agreed to acquire Terns for $53.00 per share in cash (about $6.7 billion), with boards approving the deal and a tender offer expected to close in Q2 2026.
• Analyst views are mixed: Citizens Jmp reissued a "market perform" rating, while the MarketBeat consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $56.90 target and several firms raising targets into the mid‑$50s.
• Potential deal risks include multiple shareholder lawsuits challenging price/process and notable insider selling (CEO sold 14,583 shares; insiders sold 170,409 shares last quarter), which could delay or complicate the transaction.

Terns Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TERN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market perform" rating reissued by investment analysts at Citizens Jmp in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on TERN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Terns Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Terns Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Terns Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Terns Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Terns Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.90.

Terns Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of TERN stock opened at $52.86 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.32 and a beta of -0.31. Terns Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $1.87 and a 1 year high of $52.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Terns Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Amy L. Burroughs sold 14,583 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.71, for a total transaction of $681,171.93. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 288,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,498,068.96. This trade represents a 4.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Emil Kuriakose sold 1,155 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total value of $44,548.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,578.05. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 170,409 shares of company stock valued at $6,563,769 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in shares of Terns Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Terns Pharmaceuticals by 762.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 871 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Terns Pharmaceuticals by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Terns Pharmaceuticals by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 18,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Terns Pharmaceuticals by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. 98.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Terns Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Terns Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck agreed to acquire Terns for $53.00 per share in cash, valuing the company at about $6.7 billion; boards approved and a tender offer is expected with a Q2 2026 close window. Merck to Acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals (Business Wire)
• Positive Sentiment: Deal rationale: Merck is buying Terns primarily for TERN-701 (an allosteric BCR::ABL1 CML candidate), strengthening Merck’s hematology/oncology pipeline ahead of Keytruda patent pressures. Analysts say the asset underpins the acquisition logic. Merck's Deal Looks Like Good Business (Seeking Alpha)
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction: shares have moved up and hit 52-week highs as the cash offer anchors near-term valuation and reduces execution risk versus standalone biotech exposure. Terns Jumps After Merck Agrees to Acquire (QuiverQuant)
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "Neutral" rating and set a $53 price target (roughly the deal price); the firm also published an FY2030 EPS estimate that remains negative, reflecting biotech-stage economics. HC Wainwright Note / MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in recent filings is noisy/zeroed in some feeds and does not present a clear short-covering story at this time. (Data providers show inconsistent figures.)
• Negative Sentiment: Several shareholder law firms (Kahn Swick & Foti, Monteverde & Associates, Ademi, Halper Sadeh, others) have opened investigations into whether Terns’ directors secured a fair price/process — these suits can lead to delays, revised terms, or additional disclosures. KSF Investigates Proposed Sale (Business Wire) Monteverde Investigation (PR Newswire)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and large institutional selling reported in some data feeds (multiple prior quarter reductions by large holders) could weigh on sentiment if perceived as exits ahead of the tender or signaling mixed conviction. Insider & Institutional Activity (QuiverQuant)

Terns Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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