Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) Stock Jumps 4.6% – What’s Next?

Shares of Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO) were up 4.6% on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $13.92 and last traded at $14.1950. Approximately 147,055 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 298,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Crescent Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. HC Wainwright upgraded Crescent Biopharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.40.

Crescent Biopharma Trading Up 1.4%

The stock has a market cap of $510.86 million, a P/E ratio of -2.05 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $16.80 and its 200 day moving average is $17.73.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.74). Research analysts forecast that Crescent Biopharma, Inc. will post -2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Joshua Brumm sold 7,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,765 shares in the company, valued at $4,541,193.15. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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, COO Jonathan McNeill sold 3,839 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total value of $64,149.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 134,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,248,965.48. This represents a 2.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,726 shares of company stock valued at $285,501. Corporate insiders own 24.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Opaleye Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma by 0.5% in the second quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 1,319,351 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $23,748,000 after buying an additional 6,736 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Crescent Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $435,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $263,000. Stonepine Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $720,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $465,000. Institutional investors own 75.19% of the company’s stock.

About Crescent Biopharma