Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ:COGT)

Stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ:COGT) in a report released on Monday. The firm set a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock.

COGT has been the topic of several other reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Cogent Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Cogent Biosciences to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Cogent Biosciences in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group upgraded Cogent Biosciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Cogent Biosciences from $39.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cogent Biosciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.82.

Cogent Biosciences Trading Up 5.4%

Shares of COGT stock traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $35.82. 1,029,978 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,978,587. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.56 and a beta of 0.47. Cogent Biosciences has a 12-month low of $3.72 and a 12-month high of $43.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.04. The company has a current ratio of 14.23, a quick ratio of 14.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ:COGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The technology company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.04). As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cogent Biosciences will post -2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Cogent Biosciences news, insider Evan Kearns sold 65,000 shares of Cogent Biosciences stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.70, for a total value of $2,515,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 109,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,233,702.60. The trade was a 37.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Edward Robinson sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total value of $3,486,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 140,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,423,677.48. This represents a 39.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,737,642 shares of company stock worth $136,600,345. Insiders own 7.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COGT. Deerfield Management Company L.P. raised its stake in Cogent Biosciences by 242.9% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,053,118 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $130,003,000 after buying an additional 6,412,903 shares during the last quarter. Commodore Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Cogent Biosciences by 213.7% during the third quarter. Commodore Capital LP now owns 7,250,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $104,110,000 after acquiring an additional 4,938,836 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Cogent Biosciences by 119.0% during the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 7,592,241 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $269,676,000 after acquiring an additional 4,124,755 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cogent Biosciences by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,514,326 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $408,989,000 after acquiring an additional 3,756,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairmount Funds Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cogent Biosciences by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fairmount Funds Management LLC now owns 9,003,418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $129,289,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,777 shares during the last quarter.

Cogent Biosciences Company Profile

Cogent Biosciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of small-molecule therapies that modulate the tumor microenvironment. The company’s research centers on targeting colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R), a key regulator of tumor-associated macrophages that can promote tumor growth and immune evasion. By selectively inhibiting CSF1R, Cogent Biosciences aims to restore immune surveillance and enhance the efficacy of existing cancer treatments.

The company’s lead asset is an orally bioavailable CSF1R inhibitor that has advanced into early-stage clinical trials for various solid tumors.