Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) Stock Rating Lowered by Stephens

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) was downgraded by Stephens from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CNTA. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CNTA opened at $39.86 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of -21.78 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 10.56 and a quick ratio of 10.57. Centessa Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $9.60 and a fifty-two week high of $40.26.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 6th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.10). As a group, equities analysts predict that Centessa Pharmaceuticals will post -1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Centessa Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 73,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $1,927,250.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 65,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,735,805.25. The trade was a 52.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Iqbal J. Hussain sold 38,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.15, for a total transaction of $979,617.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 57,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,449,771.75. This trade represents a 40.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 349,073 shares of company stock worth $9,429,412. Insiders own 7.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 52.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 609,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,760,000 after purchasing an additional 210,737 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $2,176,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 44.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 26,994 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 155.4% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,630,000 after buying an additional 260,702 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 98,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,291,000 after buying an additional 22,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

More Centessa Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Eli Lilly agreed to acquire Centessa in a deal worth up to $7.8 billion (initial $38.00/share cash plus contingent value rights), which creates a takeover premium and is the primary driver of the stock’s upward move. Eli Lilly to buy Centessa Pharma
• Positive Sentiment: Leerink Partners reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and raised its price target to $40.00, a small upward revision that supports the view the deal price is appropriate. Leerink raises price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity: earlier spikes in call buying and, more recently, a large surge in put purchases (10,659 puts) signal mixed positioning—some traders betting on deal completion/arb, others hedging or speculating on downside. (No single article link)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple brokerages downgraded CNTA (Needham, Wolfe Research, Stephens), citing valuation or deal-related uncertainty — analyst downgrades can weigh on momentum despite the takeover premium. Needham downgrades
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms and shareholder groups have announced investigations into whether the sale process and price are fair (Monteverde, Kahn Swick & Foti, Ademi, Halper Sadeh). Potential litigation or challenges to the transaction could delay closing or pressure the spread between market price and deal consideration. Shareholder investigation announced
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results missed EPS estimates (reported ($0.48) vs. consensus ($0.38)), underscoring ongoing clinical and execution risks outside the transaction context. Centessa earnings miss

About Centessa Pharmaceuticals

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.