First Light Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Septerna, Inc. $SEPN

First Light Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Septerna, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEPN) by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 963,260 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230,400 shares during the quarter. Septerna makes up approximately 2.0% of First Light Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. First Light Asset Management LLC owned 2.06% of Septerna worth $32,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Group One Trading LLC lifted its stake in shares of Septerna by 111.8% during the 4th quarter. Group One Trading LLC now owns 944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 8,955 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Septerna in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Septerna in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Septerna during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Septerna by 88.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,945 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Elizabeth Bhatt sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $1,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 174,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,665,196. This represents a 12.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Samira Shaikhly sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.08, for a total transaction of $219,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 793 shares in the company, valued at $27,818.44. This represents a 88.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 58,428 shares of company stock worth $2,284,054 in the last three months. Insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Septerna Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Septerna stock opened at $37.97 on Thursday. Septerna, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.67 and a 12-month high of $51.10. The firm has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of -70.31 and a beta of 2.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.40.

Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.14. Septerna had a negative net margin of 24.51% and a negative return on equity of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $26.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.22 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Septerna, Inc. will post -1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SEPN shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Septerna from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Septerna from $38.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Septerna from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Septerna in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Septerna from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.44.

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.