Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) Trading Up 5.3% – Here’s Why

Septerna, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEPN) shares shot up 5.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $36.33 and last traded at $36.6950. Approximately 21,596 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 313,273 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SEPN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Septerna from $28.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Septerna from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Septerna in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Septerna in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Septerna from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.78.

Septerna Trading Up 5.8%

The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.22 and a beta of 2.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.09.

Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.23. Septerna had a negative net margin of 49.88% and a negative return on equity of 12.72%. The company had revenue of $26.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.98 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Septerna, Inc. will post -1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Septerna

In other news, insider Samira Shaikhly sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.08, for a total transaction of $219,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,818.44. This trade represents a 88.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Elizabeth Bhatt sold 4,000 shares of Septerna stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.34, for a total transaction of $97,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 174,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,240,247.06. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 27,983 shares of company stock valued at $842,957 in the last three months. Insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Septerna

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SEPN. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Septerna by 94.2% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 582,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,373,000 after acquiring an additional 282,585 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Septerna by 16.6% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 23,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,323 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Septerna by 19.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 487,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,158,000 after purchasing an additional 78,316 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Septerna by 15.0% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Septerna during the second quarter worth about $133,000.

About Septerna

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.