Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Septerna, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEPN) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $37.50 and last traded at $36.57, with a volume of 301521 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Septerna from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Septerna from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Septerna in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Septerna from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Septerna from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.78.

Septerna Stock Down 4.2%

The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of -42.64 and a beta of 2.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.29.

Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.23. Septerna had a negative net margin of 49.88% and a negative return on equity of 12.72%. The firm had revenue of $26.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.98 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Septerna, Inc. will post -1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Septerna

In other Septerna news, SVP Daniel D. Long sold 15,000 shares of Septerna stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.51, for a total transaction of $532,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 96,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,423,590.12. The trade was a 13.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Samira Shaikhly sold 11,798 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.06, for a total value 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 trade represents a 93.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 42,983 shares of company stock valued at $1,375,607 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Septerna

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SEPN. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in shares of Septerna in the first quarter worth approximately $21,334,000. First Light Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Septerna by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 732,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,611,000 after acquiring an additional 112,049 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Septerna in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $906,000. Swiss National Bank purchased a new stake in Septerna during the 1st quarter valued at $531,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Septerna by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 58,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 3,377 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.