Sagimet Biosciences (NASDAQ:SGMT) Shares Climb 6.1% – Should You Buy?

Sagimet Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SGMT)’s stock price shot up 6.1% on Monday. The company traded as high as $9.81 and last traded at $9.8070. 701,409 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 1,168,464 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SGMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Sagimet Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $10.71 price target on the stock. Barclays upgraded Sagimet Biosciences from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $8.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Sagimet Biosciences in a research report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Sagimet Biosciences in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sagimet Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.34.

Sagimet Biosciences Trading Up 7.6%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.58 and a 200 day moving average of $7.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $617.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.77 and a beta of 3.45.

Sagimet Biosciences (NASDAQ:SGMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.01). Equities research analysts predict that Sagimet Biosciences Inc. will post -1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sagimet Biosciences

In other news, Director George Kemble sold 20,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.95, for a total value of $201,049.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 62,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $618,501.95. This represents a 24.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Elizabeth Rozek sold 10,545 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.76, for a total transaction of $81,829.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 224,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,741,452.64. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 113,646 shares of company stock worth $920,491 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sagimet Biosciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Sagimet Biosciences by 99.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 271,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 135,178 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Sagimet Biosciences in the 2nd quarter worth $1,551,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sagimet Biosciences in the second quarter valued at $3,119,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sagimet Biosciences by 82.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 625,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,268,000 after buying an additional 282,969 shares during the period. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new position in Sagimet Biosciences during the second quarter valued at about $618,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Sagimet Biosciences Company Profile

Sagimet Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for diseases associated with abnormal lipid metabolism. The company’s primary focus is fatty acid synthase (FASN), an enzyme involved in the production of fatty acids that can contribute to disease progression in certain metabolic and inflammatory conditions.

Sagimet’s lead product candidate is denifanstat, formerly known as TVB-2640. Denifanstat is an orally administered, selective FASN inhibitor being evaluated primarily for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a chronic liver disease that can lead to fibrosis, cirrhosis and other serious complications.