Wedbush Upgrades Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL) to "Outperform"

Key Points

• Wedbush upgraded Zentalis Pharmaceuticals to “outperform” from “neutral,” with a $6 price target—about 245% above the $1.74 share price cited in the article.
• Analyst views are mixed but lean positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $7.75, while ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell.
• Zentalis reported a quarterly loss of $0.34 per share, narrower than analysts’ expected loss of $0.54 per share.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wedbush from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush's target price indicates a potential upside of 244.83% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on ZNTL. Rodman & Renshaw initiated coverage on Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $11.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $5.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.75.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of ZNTL stock opened at $1.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $124.71 million, a PE ratio of -0.89 and a beta of 1.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $2.70 and a 200-day moving average of $3.41. Zentalis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $1.25 and a one year high of $6.95.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.54) by $0.20. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Zentalis Pharmaceuticals will post -2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Group Walters acquired 4,335,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $3.50 per share, for a total transaction of $15,172,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,844,973 shares in the company, valued at $62,457,405.50. This trade represents a 32.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. 5AM Venture Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $19,147,378. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $18,205,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,406,000. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,643,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $3,676,000.

About Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc NASDAQ: ZNTL is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing small-molecule medicines for the treatment of cancer. The company's research is centered on therapies designed to target biological pathways involved in tumor growth, survival and resistance to existing treatments.

Zentalis' lead product candidate is azenosertib, formerly known as ZN-c3, an oral inhibitor of WEE1, a protein involved in regulating the cell cycle and DNA-damage response.

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