Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) Sets New 52-Week High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Septerna, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEPN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $40.65 and last traded at $38.2550, with a volume of 303743 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.83.

The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $26.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.22 million. Septerna had a negative net margin of 24.51% and a negative return on equity of 9.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SEPN. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of Septerna in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $49.00 price target on Septerna in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Septerna from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Septerna in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Septerna from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Septerna

In related news, insider Samira Shaikhly sold 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $76,622.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 793 shares in the company, valued at $27,897.74. This trade represents a 73.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Daniel D. Long sold 3,334 shares of Septerna stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.47, for a total value of $114,922.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 96,412 shares in the company, valued at $3,323,321.64. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 47,828 shares of company stock valued at $1,584,314 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Septerna

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. TRV GP V LLC acquired a new position in Septerna during the second quarter worth $208,160,143,000. TRV GP VI LLC acquired a new stake in Septerna in the second quarter valued at $141,048,460,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Septerna by 86.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,715,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260,409 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Septerna during the 2nd quarter worth $64,706,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Septerna by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,518,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,568,000 after purchasing an additional 104,394 shares during the period.

Septerna Trading Up 22.9%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $34.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.44 and a beta of 2.29.

Septerna Company Profile

We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new era of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) oral small molecule drug discovery powered by our proprietary Native Complex Platform™. Our industrial-scale platform aims to unlock the full potential of GPCR therapies and has led to the discovery and development of our deep pipeline of product candidates focused initially on treating patients in three therapeutic areas: endocrinology, immunology and inflammation, and metabolic diseases. GPCRs are the largest and most diverse family of cell membrane receptors and regulate physiological processes in nearly every organ system of the human body.