Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) Given Buy Rating at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $36.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Crescent Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Crescent Biopharma presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

Crescent Biopharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CBIO opened at $12.36 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $16.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.73. Crescent Biopharma has a 12-month low of $8.72 and a 12-month high of $27.41.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.74). As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Crescent Biopharma will post -2.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Joshua T. Brumm sold 7,837 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 transaction of $130,956.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,541,193.15. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total transaction of $64,149.69. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 134,588 shares in the company, valued at $2,248,965.48. This represents a 2.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 three months, insiders sold 16,726 shares of company stock worth $285,501. Insiders own 24.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opaleye Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Crescent Biopharma by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 1,319,351 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $23,748,000 after purchasing an additional 6,736 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth $22,892,000. Exome Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 1st quarter worth $2,814,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 1st quarter worth $2,810,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth $824,000. 75.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Crescent Biopharma