Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Septerna, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEPN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $37.32 and last traded at $35.8750, with a volume of 31921 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Septerna in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Septerna from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Septerna from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Septerna in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Septerna in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Septerna presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.78.

Septerna Trading Down 2.2%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.24 and a beta of 2.39.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Samira Shaikhly sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.08, for a total value of $219,250.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,818.44. This trade represents a 88.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Elizabeth Bhatt sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.34, for a total transaction of $97,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 174,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,247.06. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,983 shares of company stock worth $842,957. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SEPN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Septerna by 86.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,715,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,698,000 after buying an additional 1,260,409 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in Septerna in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $21,334,000. First Light Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Septerna in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,308,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new position in Septerna in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,225,000. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC bought a new position in Septerna in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,723,000.

Septerna Company Profile

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.