Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Receives Hold Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their hold rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 2nd. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Centessa Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 44.0%

NASDAQ CNTA opened at $39.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 10.57 and a current ratio of 10.56. Centessa Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $9.60 and a one year high of $40.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of -21.70 and a beta of 1.55.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.38) by ($0.10). On average, equities analysts forecast that Centessa Pharmaceuticals will post -1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Centessa Pharmaceuticals

In other Centessa Pharmaceuticals news, insider Karen M. Anderson sold 41,076 shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.12, for a total transaction of $1,237,209.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 62,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,870,000.20. The trade was a 39.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 73,196 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total value of $1,927,250.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 65,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,735,805.25. The trade was a 52.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 349,073 shares of company stock worth $9,429,412 in the last three months. 7.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNTA. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 116.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,808,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,096,000 after buying an additional 5,808,080 shares in the last quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 466.4% in the fourth quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC now owns 3,115,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,906,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565,000 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP bought a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,730,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,429,000. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in Centessa Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Centessa Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Eli Lilly agreed to buy Centessa for $38 per share in cash plus a potential contingent value right (CVR) worth up to $9 per share, valuing the deal at roughly $6.3B up front and up to $7.8B including milestones; the transaction is framed as an expansion of Lilly’s neuroscience/sleep‑medicine pipeline. Eli Lilly to buy Centessa Pharma in $6.3 billion deal
• Positive Sentiment: Deal terms include the $38 cash upfront plus CVR milestones (up to $9) — investors are pricing some or all of the CVR into CNTA shares, which helps explain the stock trading above the $38 cash figure. Eli Lilly to acquire Centessa in $6.3B deal to expand neuroscience portfolio
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity: large jump in call buying (nearly 3,000 calls traded, a ~472% spike vs. normal), signaling short‑term bullish speculation or hedging around the deal news.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have mostly left ratings unchanged (Wolfe Research “peer perform”, Needham “hold”), suggesting the deal changes valuation more than near‑term fundamentals. Analyst coverage updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading metrics: unusually high share volume and CNTA trading near its 12‑month high, driven by the acquisition announcement and attendant positioning flows.
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder litigation/investigations have been filed or announced (Ademi Firm and Halper Sadeh LLC) alleging Centessa shareholders may not be getting a fair price, which could lead to legal review, delay or pressure on deal terms. Shareholder Alert: The Ademi Firm investigates whether Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc is obtaining a Fair Price for Public Shareholders CNTA Stock Alert: Halper Sadeh LLC is Investigating Whether Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc is Obtaining a Fair Price for its Shareholders

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc is a global clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative therapies across multiple disease areas. The company operates a modular R&D network, bringing together a portfolio of independent, specialist research entities under a single corporate umbrella. This structure is designed to accelerate decision‐making and resource allocation while leveraging deep scientific expertise in each therapeutic domain.

Centessa’s pipeline spans oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, as well as rare genetic disorders.