Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after HC Wainwright raised their price target on the stock from $36.00 to $40.00. The stock had previously closed at $14.37, but opened at $15.21. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the stock. Crescent Biopharma shares last traded at $14.0650, with a volume of 9,447 shares traded.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CBIO. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a report on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Crescent Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.67.

Insider Activity at Crescent Biopharma

In other Crescent Biopharma news, COO Jonathan McNeill sold 3,839 shares of Crescent Biopharma stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total transaction of $64,149.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 134,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,965.48. The trade was a 2.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Joshua T. Brumm sold 7,837 shares of Crescent Biopharma stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total transaction of $130,956.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,541,193.15. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 16,726 shares of company stock worth $285,501 over the last 90 days. 24.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CBIO. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the second quarter worth $38,000. Simplex Trading LLC bought a new stake in Crescent Biopharma in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Crescent Biopharma in the second quarter valued at about $197,000. ACT Capital Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Crescent Biopharma in the third quarter valued at about $168,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Crescent Biopharma in the second quarter valued at about $263,000. 75.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Crescent Biopharma Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.86. The stock has a market cap of $517.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 1.40.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70) by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $3.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.62 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Crescent Biopharma, Inc. will post -2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Crescent Biopharma

Crescent Biopharma is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing medicines for cancer. Its research centers on antibody-based treatments, including therapies designed to target tumor cells and support the body’s immune response. The company’s work is directed toward advancing oncology drug candidates through clinical development. Its pipeline and programs may change as research progresses, and its products are investigational rather than established treatments. Crescent Biopharma is focused on developing its therapies for cancer patients; detailed information about its geographic operations and leadership is not included here.