Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) Shares Up 4.8% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO) were up 4.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $17.15 and last traded at $17.39. Approximately 39,225 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 265,457 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CBIO. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen raised shares of Crescent Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crescent Biopharma has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.60.

Crescent Biopharma Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $16.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.78. The company has a market cap of $688.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jonathan Mcneill sold 20,549 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total transaction of $369,676.51. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 139,158 shares in the company, valued at $2,503,452.42. This represents a 12.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total value of $761,066.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,059,003.88. This represents a 13.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold 68,156 shares of company stock valued at $1,226,126 in the last quarter. 24.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Crescent Biopharma

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CBIO. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the second quarter valued at $38,000. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in Crescent Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $96,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth about $138,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the second quarter worth approximately $149,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $155,000. 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-β), with the goal of restoring T-cell activity and reducing tumor fibrosis.