Guggenheim Initiates Coverage on Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO)

Analysts at Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Guggenheim’s price target points to a potential upside of 156.79% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Crescent Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e-)” rating on shares of Crescent Biopharma in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $32.00 price target on Crescent Biopharma in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $27.83.

Crescent Biopharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ CBIO opened at $13.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.64 and a beta of 1.35. Crescent Biopharma has a one year low of $9.81 and a one year high of $37.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $12.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.86.

Crescent Biopharma (NASDAQ:CBIO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.01) by ($0.26). Sell-side analysts forecast that Crescent Biopharma will post -0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crescent Biopharma

In other Crescent Biopharma news, Director Fairmount Funds Management Llc bought 1,360,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.41 per share, for a total transaction of $18,237,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,747,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,848,883.06. The trade was a 97.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $437,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,520,000. Commodore Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,322,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma during the second quarter worth approximately $1,629,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Crescent Biopharma in the second quarter worth $149,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.19% of the company’s stock.

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.