Terns Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TERN) Sees Large Volume Increase - What's Next?

Key Points

• Trading volume surged 162% to 11,416,575 shares on Tuesday, with the stock last trading around $52.60 (previous close $52.78), and the company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates—($0.24) vs. consensus ($0.30) loss.
• Analyst coverage is mixed: Terns has a consensus rating of "Hold" with a $56.30 target, though Oppenheimer raised its target to $58 (outperform) and Jefferies maintains a $70 buy rating; the full tally is 1 Strong Buy, 5 Buy, 7 Hold and 1 Sell.
• Insiders have been selling (CEO Amy L. Burroughs sold 14,583 shares for ~$681k), with 98,857 insider shares sold over 90 days and insiders owning about 1.5%, while institutions/hedge funds reportedly own ~98.26% of the stock.

Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TERN - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 11,416,575 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 162% from the previous session's volume of 4,355,876 shares.The stock last traded at $52.5950 and had previously closed at $52.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TERN. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Terns Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Citizens Jmp lowered Terns Pharmaceuticals from a "market outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of Terns Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Terns Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Terns Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Terns Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.30.

Terns Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.10 and a beta of -0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.28.

Terns Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TERN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 2nd. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by $0.06. On average, research analysts expect that Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Terns Pharmaceuticals

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Terns Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TERN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Terns Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Terns Pharmaceuticals by 762.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 871 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in Terns Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Terns Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Terns Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. 98.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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