Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) Given Outperform Rating at Wedbush

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Wedbush in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $27.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 50.22% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on CBIO. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a report on Friday, August 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Crescent Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Crescent Biopharma has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.60.

Crescent Biopharma Stock Performance

Shares of CBIO stock opened at $17.97 on Thursday. Crescent Biopharma has a fifty-two week low of $8.72 and a fifty-two week high of $27.41. The firm has a market cap of $667.63 million, a P/E ratio of -2.64 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $16.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.49.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.74). As a group, equities analysts predict that Crescent Biopharma will post -2.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jonathan Mcneill sold 20,549 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total value of $369,676.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 139,158 shares in the company, valued at $2,503,452.42. This trade represents a 12.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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, CEO Joshua T. Brumm sold 42,305 shares of Crescent Biopharma stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total transaction of $761,066.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,059,003.88. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 sold 68,156 shares of company stock valued at $1,226,126. 24.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the second quarter worth $38,000. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $96,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in Crescent Biopharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $138,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $149,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP purchased a new position in Crescent Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth about $155,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.19% of the company’s stock.

Crescent Biopharma Company Profile

Crescent Biopharma, Inc (NASDAQ: CBIO) is a clinical?stage immuno?oncology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for patients with solid tumors. The company’s research strategy centers on combination approaches that enhance anti?tumor immune responses by simultaneously targeting multiple pathways implicated in immune evasion and tumor growth.

The company’s lead candidate, CPB-201, is a bifunctional fusion protein designed to block programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) while neutralizing transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-?), with the goal of restoring T-cell activity and reducing tumor fibrosis.