Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Septerna, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEPN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $38.78 and last traded at $38.6350, with a volume of 209795 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Septerna from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Septerna in a report on Friday, May 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Septerna in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Septerna from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on Septerna from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Septerna presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.89.

Septerna Trading Up 2.0%

The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.80 and a beta of 2.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.06 and a 200 day moving average of $28.83.

Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.23. Septerna had a negative return on equity of 12.72% and a negative net margin of 49.88%.The firm had revenue of $26.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.98 million. Equities analysts forecast that Septerna, Inc. will post -1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Daniel D. Long sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.51, for a total transaction of $532,650.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 96,412 shares in the company, valued at $3,423,590.12. This trade represents a 13.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Samira Shaikhly sold 11,798 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.06, for a total transaction of $354,647.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 793 shares in the company, valued at $23,837.58. This represents a 93.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,828 shares of company stock worth $1,584,314. Insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Septerna

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,260,409 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Septerna by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,518,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,568,000 after acquiring an additional 104,394 shares during the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 329,264 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in shares of Septerna during the 1st quarter worth approximately $21,334,000. Finally, First Light Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Septerna by 18.0% in the first quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 732,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,611,000 after purchasing an additional 112,049 shares during the last quarter.

Septerna Company Profile

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.