Crescent Biopharma’s (CBIO) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Wedbush

Wedbush restated their outperform rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $27.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen upgraded Crescent Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.60.

Crescent Biopharma Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:CBIO opened at $17.75 on Thursday. Crescent Biopharma has a fifty-two week low of $8.72 and a fifty-two week high of $27.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.55. The company has a market cap of $659.24 million, a PE ratio of -2.64 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Insider Transactions at Crescent Biopharma

In other Crescent Biopharma news, COO Jonathan Mcneill sold 20,549 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total value of $369,676.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 139,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,503,452.42. This represents a 12.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total transaction 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 approximately $5,059,003.88. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 a total of 68,156 shares of company stock valued at $1,226,126 over the last three months. 24.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crescent Biopharma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fcpm Iii Services B.V. bought a new stake in Crescent Biopharma during the 4th quarter valued at $19,899,000. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in Crescent Biopharma during the 4th quarter worth $17,790,000. BVF Inc. IL grew its stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma by 98.1% in the fourth quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,748,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360,900 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the second quarter worth $22,892,000. Finally, Opaleye Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the fourth quarter valued at $13,975,000. 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.