William Blair Initiates Coverage on Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL)

Key Points

• William Blair initiated coverage of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals with an “outperform” rating. The analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with a $6.75 price target, despite mixed ratings ranging from “strong sell” to “buy.”
• ZNTL shares opened at $3.13 after falling 10.6%, well below their 50-day moving average of $4.24. The company also reported a quarterly loss of $0.59 per share, missing estimates by $0.10.
• Major shareholder Group Walters increased its stake by 32.09% through the purchase of 4.335 million shares for approximately $15.2 million. Zentalis is developing azenosertib, an oral WEE1 kinase inhibitor, for cancer treatments.

Investment analysts at William Blair began coverage on shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on ZNTL. Mizuho began coverage on Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Rodman & Renshaw initiated coverage on shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $11.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zentalis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.75.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 10.6%

Shares of ZNTL opened at $3.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.24 and a 200-day moving average of $3.84. Zentalis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $1.21 and a 52 week high of $6.95. The firm has a market cap of $224.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.61 and a beta of 1.85.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by ($0.10). On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zentalis Pharmaceuticals will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, major shareholder Group Walters acquired 4,335,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.50 per share, for a total transaction of $15,172,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 17,844,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,457,405.50. This trade represents a 32.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Spark Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $61,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $126,000. Stonepine Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $783,678. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP lifted its position in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals by 188.7% during the 2nd quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 317,600 shares of the company's stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 207,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,406,000.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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 programs are designed to address biological mechanisms involved in tumor growth, resistance to treatment and disease progression.

Zentalis' lead product candidate is azenosertib, formerly known as ZN-c3, an oral, selective WEE1 kinase inhibitor. The company is evaluating azenosertib in clinical studies involving solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, including ovarian cancer, uterine serous carcinoma and other cancers.

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