Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Crescent Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBIO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.40.

CBIO has been the subject of several research reports. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Insider Activity at Crescent Biopharma

In related news, COO Jonathan Mcneill sold 20,549 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.99, for a total transaction of $369,676.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 139,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,503,452.42. This trade represents a 12.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 Crescent Biopharma stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 281,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,059,003.88. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 68,156 shares of company stock worth $1,226,126. 24.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crescent Biopharma

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CBIO. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Crescent Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at $149,000. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the first quarter valued at approximately $187,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Crescent Biopharma in the second quarter valued at about $197,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $138,000. 75.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crescent Biopharma Trading Down 6.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:CBIO opened at $16.23 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $16.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.27. The company has a market cap of $602.78 million, a PE ratio of -2.42 and a beta of 1.23. Crescent Biopharma has a 52 week low of $8.72 and a 52 week high of $27.41.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.74). As a group, equities research analysts expect that Crescent Biopharma will post -2.91 EPS for the current year.

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.