Investors at biotech stock Cenessa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CNTA) were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in Wednesday afternoon’s trading, sending shares up nearly 14% in the session. The biggest reason? A new look from Jefferies that focused on a new drug Centessa is developing, as well as what else it may have up its sleeve in the near term.
Jefferies hiked Centessa’s rating to Buy, thanks to not only a range of drugs currently in development but also its ORX750, a drug that’s designed to treat narcolepsy. Next year, Centessa will roll out some proof-of-concept data that Jefferies analysts believe will serve as the next big catalyst, and thus, the next big leg up. There’s also some potential upside to be had from SerpinPC, which was the subject of a new agreement with the FDA to be used as a Hemophilia A treatment. Perhaps best of all, not only did Jefferies hike the rating, it also hiked the price target, nearly tripling the amount from its original $4 per share to $11.
Centessa’s Earnings Report Didn’t Hurt
The future definitely looks good for Centessa, but its present isn’t all that bad either. Its third quarter earnings report delivered some welcome news for investors as well. While it didn’t exactly win the day, posting a loss of $0.40 per share, it came out better than expected. Analysts were expecting a loss of $0.52 per share, so a win is a win. It certainly didn’t hurt that it reduced its research and development (R&D) expenses from $36.7 million to $28.2 million. That makes things a lot easier on the cash on hand, with its reserves of $281.3 million now apparently sufficient runway to keep things going into 2026.
Is Centessa Pharmaceuticals Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on CNTA stock based on three Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 116.86% rally in its share price over the past year, the average CNTA price target of $11.33 per share implies 51.88% upside potential.
