Sagimet Biosciences (NASDAQ:SGMT) Stock Price Down 6% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Sagimet Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SGMT) traded down 6% on Monday. The company traded as low as $8.71 and last traded at $8.5950. 231,892 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 1,194,630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Sagimet Biosciences from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sagimet Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Sagimet Biosciences in a report on Monday. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of Sagimet Biosciences from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Sagimet Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.63.

Sagimet Biosciences Trading Down 3.0%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.83. The company has a market capitalization of $544.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.84 and a beta of 3.46.

Sagimet Biosciences (NASDAQ:SGMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.01). As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sagimet Biosciences Inc. will post -1.17 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David Happel sold 64,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.76, for a total transaction of $497,035.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 741,570 shares in the company, valued at $5,754,583.20. The trade was a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Elizabeth Rozek sold 10,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.76, for a total value of $81,829.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sagimet Biosciences by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 2,591 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Sagimet Biosciences by 344.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 43,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 33,982 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Sagimet Biosciences during the second quarter worth $315,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. acquired a new position in Sagimet Biosciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $618,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Sagimet Biosciences by 99.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 271,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 135,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

About Sagimet Biosciences

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.