Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) Trading Up 4.2% – Time to Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Crescent Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research report on Thursday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.60.

Crescent Biopharma Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $659.61 million, a PE ratio of -2.64 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.54.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.74). Sell-side analysts forecast that Crescent Biopharma, Inc. will post -2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jonathan Mcneill sold 20,549 shares of Crescent Biopharma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 139,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,503,452.42. This trade represents a 12.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total value of $761,066.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 281,212 shares in the company, valued at $5,059,003.88. The trade was a 13.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Insiders have sold 68,156 shares of company stock worth $1,226,126 in the last three months. 24.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crescent Biopharma

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commodore Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the second quarter valued at $7,322,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,629,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Crescent Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth about $149,000. Perceptive Advisors LLC bought a new position in Crescent Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,322,000. Finally, Soleus Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,456,000. 75.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Crescent Biopharma

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.