Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Septerna, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEPN) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Guggenheim upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $32.92 and last traded at $32.72, with a volume of 56398 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $30.47.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SEPN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Septerna in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Septerna from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Septerna from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Septerna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Septerna in a research note on Friday, May 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Septerna currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Septerna

In other Septerna news, insider Samira Shaikhly sold 11,798 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.06, for a total transaction of $354,647.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,837.58. This trade represents a 93.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Elizabeth Bhatt sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.34, for a total value of $97,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 174,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,247.06. This trade represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,733 shares of company stock worth $623,707. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Septerna

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Septerna by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,337,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,158,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Septerna during the 2nd quarter worth $133,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Septerna during the 4th quarter worth $100,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Septerna by 88.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Septerna during the 4th quarter worth $53,000.

Septerna Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.38 and a beta of 2.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.79.

Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.23. The company had revenue of $26.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.98 million. Septerna had a negative return on equity of 12.72% and a negative net margin of 49.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Septerna, Inc. will post -1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

About Septerna

We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new era of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) oral small molecule drug discovery powered by our proprietary Native Complex Platform™. Our industrial-scale platform aims to unlock the full potential of GPCR therapies and has led to the discovery and development of our deep pipeline of product candidates focused initially on treating patients in three therapeutic areas: endocrinology, immunology and inflammation, and metabolic diseases. GPCRs are the largest and most diverse family of cell membrane receptors and regulate physiological processes in nearly every organ system of the human body.