Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Cut to “Hold” at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $39.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of -21.69 and a beta of 1.25. Centessa Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $9.60 and a 52 week high of $40.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 10.57 and a current ratio of 10.56.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 6th. The company reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.10). As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Centessa Pharmaceuticals will post -1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centessa Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 73,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $1,927,250.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 65,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,735,805.25. This represents a 52.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen M. Anderson sold 41,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.12, for a total transaction of $1,237,209.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 62,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,870,000.20. This trade represents a 39.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 349,073 shares of company stock valued at $9,429,412 over the last three months. 7.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the second quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 14,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Centessa Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lilly acquisition reported — Multiple outlets report Eli Lilly will acquire Centessa in a deal worth up to $7.8B; press coverage notes shareholders would receive roughly $38 in cash plus contingent value rights tied to potential upside, which sets a clear takeover premium/floor under the stock. LLY to Buy Centessa — Zacks
• Positive Sentiment: Large call buying — Reports show unusually high volume of call-option purchases, a bullish signal from derivatives traders that may reflect takeover-related arbitrage or speculative upside interest. Investors Purchase Calls — American Banking News
• Neutral Sentiment: Guggenheim reaffirmed “neutral” — Guggenheim left its rating unchanged, signaling no strong analyst upgrade in response to the takeover buzz. Guggenheim Reaffirms — TickerReport
• Neutral Sentiment: Leerink moved to “hold” but raised price target to $40 — A mixed note: downgrading the rating but nudging the target slightly above current market levels, reflecting uncertainty about deal dynamics or timing. Leerink Downgrade / PT — Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple analyst downgrades — Several firms (B. Riley, Lifesci Capital, Wolfe Research, Needham, Stephens and others) cut ratings to hold from stronger stances, pressuring sentiment despite the takeover reports. Analyst Downgrades — Zacks Wolfe Research — American Banking News Needham — American Banking News
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder investigations and class-action alerts — Two law firms announced probes into the proposed sale process and price adequacy, creating legal/transaction risk that can weigh on the stock and complicate closing. Monteverde & Associates — PR Newswire KSF Investigation — BusinessWire
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings miss — Centessa reported Q (EPS -$0.48) that missed consensus (~ -$0.38), an operational disappointment that adds near-term pressure independent of M&A news. Earnings Release — MarketBeat
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy put buying — Separately, unusual volume in put options (10,659 puts, a large jump vs. average) shows some participants betting on downside or using puts for hedging around the deal. (No direct link provided in feed.)

About Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc is a global clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative therapies across multiple disease areas. The company operates a modular R&D network, bringing together a portfolio of independent, specialist research entities under a single corporate umbrella. This structure is designed to accelerate decision‐making and resource allocation while leveraging deep scientific expertise in each therapeutic domain.

Centessa’s pipeline spans oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, as well as rare genetic disorders.