Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Stephens

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) was downgraded by equities researchers at Stephens from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on CNTA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 44.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CNTA opened at $39.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 10.56 and a quick ratio of 10.57. The stock has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.70 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.29 and a 200-day moving average of $25.24. Centessa Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $9.60 and a one year high of $40.26.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.38) by ($0.10). On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Centessa Pharmaceuticals will post -1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centessa Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 73,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total value of $1,927,250.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 65,925 shares in the company, valued at $1,735,805.25. This represents a 52.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Karen M. Anderson sold 120,029 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.25, for a total transaction of $3,150,761.25. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 62,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,629,731.25. This represents a 65.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 349,073 shares of company stock valued at $9,429,412. 7.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,130,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,858,000 after buying an additional 37,954 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,999,000. Eagle Health Investments LP acquired a new position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,500,000. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC grew its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC now owns 1,314,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,865,000 after acquiring an additional 60,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,429,000. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Centessa Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Eli Lilly agreed to buy Centessa for $38 per share in cash plus a potential contingent value right (CVR) worth up to $9 per share, valuing the deal at roughly $6.3B up front and up to $7.8B including milestones; the transaction is framed as an expansion of Lilly’s neuroscience/sleep‑medicine pipeline. Eli Lilly to buy Centessa Pharma in $6.3 billion deal
• Positive Sentiment: Deal terms include the $38 cash upfront plus CVR milestones (up to $9) — investors are pricing some or all of the CVR into CNTA shares, which helps explain the stock trading above the $38 cash figure. Eli Lilly to acquire Centessa in $6.3B deal to expand neuroscience portfolio
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity: large jump in call buying (nearly 3,000 calls traded, a ~472% spike vs. normal), signaling short‑term bullish speculation or hedging around the deal news.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have mostly left ratings unchanged (Wolfe Research “peer perform”, Needham “hold”), suggesting the deal changes valuation more than near‑term fundamentals. Analyst coverage updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading metrics: unusually high share volume and CNTA trading near its 12‑month high, driven by the acquisition announcement and attendant positioning flows.
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder litigation/investigations have been filed or announced (Ademi Firm and Halper Sadeh LLC) alleging Centessa shareholders may not be getting a fair price, which could lead to legal review, delay or pressure on deal terms. Shareholder Alert: The Ademi Firm investigates whether Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc is obtaining a Fair Price for Public Shareholders CNTA Stock Alert: Halper Sadeh LLC is Investigating Whether Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc is Obtaining a Fair Price for its Shareholders

About Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc is a global clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative therapies across multiple disease areas. The company operates a modular R&D network, bringing together a portfolio of independent, specialist research entities under a single corporate umbrella. This structure is designed to accelerate decision‐making and resource allocation while leveraging deep scientific expertise in each therapeutic domain.

Centessa’s pipeline spans oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, as well as rare genetic disorders.