Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) Shares Up 4.2% – What’s Next?

Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO)’s stock price traded up 4.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $17.79 and last traded at $17.72. 32,896 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 267,638 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CBIO. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Crescent Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crescent Biopharma currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.25.

Crescent Biopharma Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.43. The company has a market cap of $670.56 million, a P/E ratio of -2.64 and a beta of 1.23.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.74). As a group, research analysts expect that Crescent Biopharma, Inc. will post -2.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crescent Biopharma

In related news, COO Jonathan Mcneill sold 20,549 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total transaction of $369,676.51. Following the completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available 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, CEO Joshua T. Brumm sold 42,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,156 shares of company stock worth $1,226,126. 24.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Crescent Biopharma

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CBIO. BVF Inc. IL increased its stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma by 98.1% during the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,748,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,600,000 after buying an additional 1,360,900 shares during the period. Fcpm Iii Services B.V. purchased a new stake in Crescent Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth $19,899,000. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new stake in Crescent Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth $17,790,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Crescent Biopharma in the second quarter valued at $22,892,000. Finally, Opaleye Management Inc. bought a new stake in Crescent Biopharma in the fourth quarter valued at $13,975,000. 75.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.