Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at TD Cowen

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at TD Cowen to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on CBIO. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a report on Friday, August 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.25.

Crescent Biopharma Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Crescent Biopharma stock opened at $16.97 on Monday. Crescent Biopharma has a 1 year low of $8.72 and a 1 year high of $27.41. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.37. The company has a market cap of $630.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 1.23.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.74). As a group, research analysts forecast that Crescent Biopharma will post -2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jonathan Mcneill sold 20,549 shares of the business’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 transaction of $369,676.51. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 139,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,503,452.42. The trade was a 12.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total value of $761,066.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 281,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,059,003.88. The trade was a 13.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,156 shares of company stock worth $1,226,126. 24.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crescent Biopharma

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Crescent Biopharma in the second quarter valued at about $96,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in Crescent Biopharma in the fourth quarter valued at about $138,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Crescent Biopharma in the second quarter valued at about $149,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP acquired a new position in Crescent Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth about $155,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.19% of the company’s stock.

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.