Terns Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TERN) Shares Down 3.5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Terns Pharmaceuticals' stock fell 3.5% to $7.18 with trading volume significantly down, reaching only 47,492 shares compared to an average of over 1.1 million shares.
• Analysts at HC Wainwright issued a "neutral" rating for Terns with a price target of $7.44, while the consensus rating remains a "Moderate Buy" with a higher average price target of $15.61.
• Insider activity included the CEO purchasing 23,314 shares at $3.87 each, boosting her ownership stake by 98.09%, indicative of confidence in the company's outlook.

Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TERN - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 3.5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $7.17 and last traded at $7.18. 47,492 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 1,157,161 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of Terns Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $7.44 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Terns Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $15.61.

Terns Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $6.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.23. The company has a market capitalization of $643.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.03 and a beta of -0.04.

Terns Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TERN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.02. Equities research analysts forecast that Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Terns Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Amy L. Burroughs purchased 23,314 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $3.87 per share, for a total transaction of $90,225.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 47,083 shares in the company, valued at $182,211.21. This trade represents a 98.09% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Gengos purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $3.93 per share, with a total value of $39,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $98,250. This trade represents a 66.67% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 38,314 shares of company stock valued at $149,275. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Terns Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Terns Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 27,262 shares of the company's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,097 shares during the period. Velan Capital Investment Management LP raised its position in Terns Pharmaceuticals by 17.6% during the second quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP now owns 20,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Terns Pharmaceuticals by 15.5% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 46,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 6,199 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Terns Pharmaceuticals by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 8,261 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Terns Pharmaceuticals by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 23,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 8,784 shares during the period. 98.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Terns Pharmaceuticals

Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops small-molecule product candidates for the treatment of oncology, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), and obesity. The company develops TERN-701, an allosteric BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that is in phase 1 clinical trial for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a form of cancer that starts in bone marrow.

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