Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) Shares Down 6.9% – Here’s What Happened

Septerna, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEPN)’s stock price traded down 6.9% on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $49.33 and last traded at $48.7070. 27,637 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 364,694 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.34.

Septerna News Summary

These are some of the SEPN news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on SEPN, while another report said the shares reached a new 52-week high following an analyst upgrade—signs of improving analyst sentiment and market momentum. Septerna Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Stifel Nicolaus Septerna Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright kept its Buy rating and $60 price target and raised its FY2027 EPS estimate to a smaller loss of $1.34 per share from $1.41, with improved estimates for Q3 and Q4 2027.
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate to a loss of $1.48 per share from $1.15 and increased its projected losses for Q4 2026 and Q1 2027, indicating near-term earnings expectations have weakened.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SEPN. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Septerna from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. JonesTrading raised their target price on shares of Septerna from $43.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Septerna from $38.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $49.00 target price on shares of Septerna in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price target on Septerna from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Septerna presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.44.

Septerna Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.45 and a beta of 2.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.03.

Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The company reported ($0.57) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.15). Septerna had a negative net margin of 61.29% and a negative return on equity of 14.98%. The firm had revenue of $18.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.78 million. Equities analysts predict that Septerna, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Septerna

In other Septerna news, SVP Daniel Long sold 3,333 shares of Septerna stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.83, for a total transaction of $126,087.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 96,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,265.96. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Elizabeth Bhatt sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total transaction of $149,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 174,209 shares in the company, valued at $6,517,158.69. 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. 5.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Septerna

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Septerna by 215.0% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Septerna in the third quarter worth approximately $93,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Septerna by 19.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Septerna during the second quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Septerna during the second quarter worth $298,000.

About Septerna

Septerna is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing medicines that target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), a large family of proteins involved in many biological processes. The company is based in South San Francisco, California. Its discovery platform is designed to identify drug candidates that act on GPCRs, including targets that have been difficult to address with conventional drug-development approaches. Septerna is advancing candidates for endocrine, metabolic and other disease areas, with an emphasis on small-molecule medicines.