Sagimet Biosciences (NASDAQ:SGMT) Shares Climb 7.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of Sagimet Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SGMT) traded up 7.5% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $8.11 and last traded at $8.12. 427,421 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 1,200,969 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Sagimet Biosciences in a report on Monday, October 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Sagimet Biosciences from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Sagimet Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Sagimet Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on Sagimet Biosciences from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.63.

Sagimet Biosciences Trading Up 6.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $499.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.30 and a beta of 3.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.99.

Sagimet Biosciences (NASDAQ:SGMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.01). As a group, analysts forecast that Sagimet Biosciences Inc. will post -1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sagimet Biosciences news, Director George Kemble sold 20,206 shares of Sagimet Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.95, for a total transaction of $201,049.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 62,161 shares in the company, valued at $618,501.95. This trade represents a 24.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth Rozek sold 10,545 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider directly owned 224,414 shares in the company, 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 a total of 113,646 shares of company stock valued at $920,491 over the last 90 days. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Sagimet Biosciences Company Profile

Sagimet Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines that target fatty acid synthase (FASN), an enzyme involved in the production of fatty acids. The company’s research is aimed at treating diseases associated with abnormal lipid metabolism and excess fat production.

Sagimet’s lead investigational product is denifanstat, an oral, selective FASN inhibitor formerly known as TVB-2640. The company is evaluating denifanstat primarily for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a chronic liver disease that can involve inflammation, fat accumulation and fibrosis.