Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley cut its Denali Therapeutics price target to $37 from $42 but maintained an Overweight rating, implying about 97% upside from the stock’s then-current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: MarketBeat reported a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $35.71.
• Denali reported quarterly EPS of $0.37, beating the consensus estimate of a $0.27 loss, and revenue of $17.78 million versus expectations of $12.67 million.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $42.00 to $37.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential upside of 97.28% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on DNLI. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $34.00 price target on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 7th. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating for the company. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Denali Therapeutics from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Denali Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Denali Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.71.

Denali Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ DNLI traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.75. The stock had a trading volume of 237,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,720,511. Denali Therapeutics has a one year low of $15.34 and a one year high of $27.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 5.94 and a current ratio of 6.21. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of -10.84 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $19.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.27.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $17.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.74) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Denali Therapeutics will post -2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Denali Therapeutics

In related news, insider Alexander O. Schuth sold 2,768 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.44, for a total value of $64,881.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 278,995 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,539,642.80. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 9.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DNLI. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Denali Therapeutics by 65.9% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,520,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,431,000 after acquiring an additional 175,124 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,460,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,859,000 after acquiring an additional 46,383 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 102,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,125,000 after acquiring an additional 16,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,200 shares of the company's stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.92% of the company's stock.

About Denali Therapeutics

Denali Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing medicines for neurodegenerative diseases and other disorders involving the nervous system. Founded in 2015, the company is headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Its research and development programs target conditions including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and lysosomal storage disorders. Denali's portfolio includes investigational drug candidates that aim to address underlying disease processes, as well as its TransportVehicle platform, designed to help therapeutic molecules cross the blood-brain barrier.

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