Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.00.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CBIO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Crescent Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Crescent Biopharma from a “sell (e)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crescent Biopharma news, CEO Joshua T. Brumm sold 42,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 281,212 shares in the company, valued at $5,059,003.88. This represents a 13.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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, COO Jonathan Mcneill sold 20,549 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,156 shares of company stock worth $1,226,126. Company insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crescent Biopharma

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBIO. Fcpm Iii Services B.V. bought a new position in Crescent Biopharma during the 4th quarter worth $19,899,000. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 4th quarter valued at $17,790,000. BVF Inc. IL lifted its position in shares of Crescent Biopharma by 98.1% during the 4th quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,748,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360,900 shares during the period. Opaleye Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 4th quarter worth $13,975,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 3rd quarter worth $7,822,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.19% of the company’s stock.

Crescent Biopharma Price Performance

CBIO opened at $17.08 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.20. Crescent Biopharma has a 1 year low of $8.72 and a 1 year high of $27.41. The company has a market capitalization of $470.72 million, a PE ratio of -1.57 and a beta of 1.20.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.70) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.36 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Crescent Biopharma will post -3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Crescent Biopharma

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.