Short Interest in Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:CNTA) Increases By 7.0%

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:CNTA) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,150,000 shares, a growth of 7.0% from the October 15th total of 2,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 604,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 8.6 %

Shares of CNTA traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.00. The company had a trading volume of 730,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 448,872. Centessa Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $5.58 and a 52-week high of $18.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.46 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 13.29 and a current ratio of 21.52.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.05. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Centessa Pharmaceuticals will post -1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on CNTA. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. B. Riley began coverage on Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.83.

Insider Activity at Centessa Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Saurabh Saha sold 4,169 shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.32, for a total value of $51,362.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 827,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,197,941.60. This trade represents a 0.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 16,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.69, for a total value of $260,752.11. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 206,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,243,907.50. This represents a 7.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 325,031 shares of company stock worth $5,213,043 in the last three months. 11.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,958,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,427,000 after acquiring an additional 418,615 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $4,064,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 89.5% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,092,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,891,000 after purchasing an additional 987,997 shares during the period. First Light Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 59.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 4,780,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,168,000 after buying an additional 1,778,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 93,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,498,000 after buying an additional 37,275 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and delivers medicines for patients. Its products pipeline includes SerpinPC, an activated protein C inhibitor for the treatment of hemophilia A and B; and ORX750, an orally administered OX2R agonist for the treatment of narcolepsy and other sleep disorders.