Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) Shares Up 8.4% After Earnings Beat

Septerna, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEPN)’s stock price traded up 8.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $25.63 and last traded at $25.5540. 23,187 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 304,347 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.57.

The company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by $0.32. Septerna had a negative net margin of 106.37% and a negative return on equity of 15.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SEPN. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Septerna in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Septerna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Septerna from $28.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Septerna in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Septerna in a research report on Friday, May 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Samira Shaikhly sold 70,453 shares of Septerna stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $1,979,729.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,283.30. The trade was a 98.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Elizabeth Bhatt sold 4,000 shares of the business’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 value 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 $4,240,247.06. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 78,453 shares of company stock worth $2,192,969. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Septerna

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Septerna during the first quarter valued at $531,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Septerna by 6.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 58,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 3,377 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Septerna during the 1st quarter worth about $619,000. Strs Ohio increased its position in Septerna by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 17,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Septerna in the 4th quarter valued at about $88,000.

Septerna Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.42. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.82 and a beta of 2.21.

Septerna Company Profile

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.