Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

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

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on SEPN. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Septerna in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Septerna from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. 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. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Septerna from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Septerna from $28.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Septerna news, COO Elizabeth Bhatt sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was 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 directly owned 174,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,240,247.06. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Samira Shaikhly sold 5,935 shares of Septerna stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.93, for a total transaction of $171,699.55. Following the sale, the insider owned 793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,941.49. This represents a 88.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,733 shares of company stock valued at $623,707. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Septerna by 86.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,715,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260,409 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Septerna by 7.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,518,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,568,000 after buying an additional 104,394 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Septerna by 8.1% during the third quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,337,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,158,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Septerna by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 1,176,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,130,000 after buying an additional 329,264 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in shares of Septerna during the 1st quarter worth about $21,334,000.

Septerna Trading Up 5.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.38 and a beta of 2.39. The business 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.23. The business had revenue of $26.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.98 million. Septerna had a negative net margin of 49.88% and a negative return on equity of 12.72%. On average, analysts forecast that Septerna, Inc. will post -1.57 EPS for the current fiscal 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.