Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:CNTA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:CNTA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,460,000 shares, an increase of 31.6% from the February 13th total of 4,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 772,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days. Currently, 6.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.9 %

CNTA stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $16.29. 759,374 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 520,098. The company has a quick ratio of 21.52, a current ratio of 21.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.65 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.36. Centessa Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $7.75 and a 12-month high of $19.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CNTA. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Centessa Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $26.00.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Centessa Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Saurabh Saha sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.44, for a total value of $959,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 520,661 shares in the company, valued at $9,080,327.84. This represents a 9.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gregory M. Weinhoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total transaction of $170,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 183,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,122,852.64. This trade represents a 5.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 260,168 shares of company stock valued at $4,357,818 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.59% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 7.0% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 17,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 88.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 264,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,237,000 after purchasing an additional 124,075 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,916,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,635,000 after purchasing an additional 129,300 shares during the period. Ally Bridge Group NY LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,951,000. Finally, Suvretta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,119,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and delivers medicines for patients. Its products pipeline includes SerpinPC, an activated protein C inhibitor for the treatment of hemophilia A and B; and ORX750, an orally administered OX2R agonist for the treatment of narcolepsy and other sleep disorders.