Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Septerna, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEPN) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $38.78 and last traded at $38.6350, with a volume of 209795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SEPN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Septerna in a research note on Friday, May 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Septerna from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Septerna from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Septerna from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Septerna in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Septerna presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.89.

Septerna Stock Up 11.4%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.12 and a beta of 2.29.

Septerna (NASDAQ:SEPN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $26.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.98 million. Septerna had a negative net margin of 49.88% and a negative return on equity of 12.72%. Research analysts expect that Septerna, Inc. will post -1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Septerna news, insider Samira Shaikhly sold 11,798 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.06, for a total transaction of $354,647.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 793 shares in the company, valued at $23,837.58. This trade represents a 93.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Daniel D. Long sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.51, for a total value of $532,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 96,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,423,590.12. This trade represents a 13.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,494 shares of company stock worth $1,469,391. Corporate insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in Septerna by 94.2% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 582,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,373,000 after acquiring an additional 282,585 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Septerna by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 23,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,323 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Septerna by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 487,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,158,000 after purchasing an additional 78,316 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Septerna by 15.0% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Septerna in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $133,000.

About Septerna

We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a new era of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) oral small molecule drug discovery powered by our proprietary Native Complex Platform™. Our industrial-scale platform aims to unlock the full potential of GPCR therapies and has led to the discovery and development of our deep pipeline of product candidates focused initially on treating patients in three therapeutic areas: endocrinology, immunology and inflammation, and metabolic diseases. GPCRs are the largest and most diverse family of cell membrane receptors and regulate physiological processes in nearly every organ system of the human body.