Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ:COGT) Issues Earnings Results

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ:COGT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The technology company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.04), Zacks reports.

Cogent Biosciences Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of COGT traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.33. The stock had a trading volume of 2,352,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,049,495. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 6.38 and a quick ratio of 6.38. Cogent Biosciences has a twelve month low of $3.72 and a twelve month high of $43.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.76. The firm has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.37 and a beta of 0.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on COGT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cogent Biosciences in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Cogent Biosciences from $39.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Cogent Biosciences in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Cogent Biosciences to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Cogent Biosciences to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Fairmount Funds Management Llc sold 3,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $127,400,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,503,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,324,415.20. This represents a 38.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Edward Robinson sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total transaction of $3,486,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 140,002 shares in the company, valued at $5,423,677.48. This represents a 39.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,737,642 shares of company stock valued at $136,600,345 over the last three months. 7.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COGT. Deerfield Management Company L.P. boosted its stake in Cogent Biosciences by 242.9% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,053,118 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $130,003,000 after purchasing an additional 6,412,903 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP boosted its holdings in Cogent Biosciences by 119.0% in the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 7,592,241 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $269,676,000 after purchasing an additional 4,124,755 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Cogent Biosciences in the third quarter worth about $38,348,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Cogent Biosciences by 2,758.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,564,062 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $91,076,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Cogent Biosciences by 566.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,712,336 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $96,342,000 after acquiring an additional 2,305,437 shares in the last quarter.

Cogent Biosciences Company Profile

Cogent Biosciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of small-molecule therapies that modulate the tumor microenvironment. The company’s research centers on targeting colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R), a key regulator of tumor-associated macrophages that can promote tumor growth and immune evasion. By selectively inhibiting CSF1R, Cogent Biosciences aims to restore immune surveillance and enhance the efficacy of existing cancer treatments.

The company’s lead asset is an orally bioavailable CSF1R inhibitor that has advanced into early-stage clinical trials for various solid tumors.