Septerna, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEPN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Septerna, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEPN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,457,303 shares, an increase of 12.9% from the March 31st total of 2,176,719 shares. Currently, 5.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 304,769 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Septerna news, insider Samira Shaikhly sold 70,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total value of $1,979,729.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,283.30. This trade represents a 98.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Elizabeth Bhatt sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 174,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,247.06. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 78,453 shares of company stock valued at $2,192,969. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SEPN. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Septerna by 94.2% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 582,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,373,000 after purchasing an additional 282,585 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Septerna by 16.6% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Septerna by 19.1% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Septerna by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Septerna during the 2nd quarter worth about $133,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SEPN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Septerna in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Septerna in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Septerna from $28.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Septerna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Septerna from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.14.

Septerna Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:SEPN opened at $23.76 on Friday. Septerna has a 12 month low of $6.41 and a 12 month high of $32.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.41 and a beta of 3.50.

Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.01). Septerna had a negative net margin of 106.37% and a negative return on equity of 15.85%. Research analysts expect that Septerna will post -1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.