Sagimet Biosciences (NASDAQ:SGMT) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Sagimet Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SGMT)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $9.33, but opened at $10.61. Sagimet Biosciences shares last traded at $9.89, with a volume of 864,657 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Sagimet Biosciences in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays upgraded shares of Sagimet Biosciences from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $8.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Sagimet Biosciences from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Sagimet Biosciences from $12.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Sagimet Biosciences in a research note on Monday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sagimet Biosciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.34.

Sagimet Biosciences Stock Up 9.6%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.68. The company has a market capitalization of $635.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.01 and a beta of 3.45.

Sagimet Biosciences (NASDAQ:SGMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.01). Equities research analysts expect that Sagimet Biosciences Inc. will post -1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director George Kemble sold 20,206 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.95, for a total transaction of $201,049.70. Following the sale, the director owned 62,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,501.95. This trade represents a 24.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elizabeth Rozek sold 10,545 shares of Sagimet Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.76, for a total value of $81,829.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 224,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,741,452.64. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,646 shares of company stock worth $920,491. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sagimet Biosciences

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SGMT. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Sagimet Biosciences by 82.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 625,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,268,000 after buying an additional 282,969 shares during the period. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Sagimet Biosciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,119,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Sagimet Biosciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,551,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Sagimet Biosciences by 99.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 271,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 135,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sagimet Biosciences during the second quarter worth $618,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Sagimet Biosciences

Sagimet Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for diseases associated with abnormal lipid metabolism. The company’s primary focus is fatty acid synthase (FASN), an enzyme involved in the production of fatty acids that can contribute to disease progression in certain metabolic and inflammatory conditions.

Sagimet’s lead product candidate is denifanstat, formerly known as TVB-2640. Denifanstat is an orally administered, selective FASN inhibitor being evaluated primarily for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a chronic liver disease that can lead to fibrosis, cirrhosis and other serious complications.