Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) Shares Down 6.7% – Time to Sell?

Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO) fell 6.7% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $13.62 and last traded at $13.4860. Approximately 49,746 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 302,380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CBIO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Crescent Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised Crescent Biopharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crescent Biopharma currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.40.

Crescent Biopharma Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.63 and its 200-day moving average is $17.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $462.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.85 and a beta of 1.27.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.74). Sell-side analysts anticipate that Crescent Biopharma, Inc. will post -2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crescent Biopharma

In other news, COO Jonathan McNeill sold 3,839 shares of Crescent Biopharma stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total transaction of $64,149.69. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 134,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,965.48. The trade was a 2.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 Brumm sold 7,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.71, for a total value of $130,956.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,541,193.15. The trade was a 2.80% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 16,726 shares of company stock worth $285,501 in the last ninety days. 24.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crescent Biopharma

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CBIO. Opaleye Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Crescent Biopharma by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 1,319,351 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,748,000 after buying an additional 6,736 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth $435,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Crescent Biopharma in the 2nd quarter worth about $263,000. Stonepine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth about $720,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the second quarter valued at approximately $465,000. 75.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Crescent Biopharma