Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNTL) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating on Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, with six buys, one strong buy, three holds and one sell among 11 covering brokerages. The average 12-month price target is $7.50.
• A major shareholder purchased 4.335 million shares for approximately $15.2 million, increasing their ownership by 32.09%; institutional investors including BlackRock and Bank of America also recently established positions.
• ZNTL shares opened at $1.99, well below the analyst target, after trading between $1.21 and $6.95 over the past year. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.59 per share, missing estimates by $0.10.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNTL - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $7.50.

Several brokerages have weighed in on ZNTL. Wall Street Zen downgraded Zentalis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Rodman & Renshaw initiated coverage on Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $11.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Zentalis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th.

Insider Transactions at Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

In other Zentalis Pharmaceuticals news, major shareholder Group Walters purchased 4,335,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.50 per share, for a total transaction of $15,172,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 17,844,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,457,405.50. This represents a 32.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ZNTL. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $18,205,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals by 188.7% during the 2nd quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 317,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 207,600 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $1,815,000. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,643,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $5,406,000.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZNTL opened at $1.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $142.62 million, a PE ratio of -1.02 and a beta of 1.93. Zentalis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $1.21 and a 12 month high of $6.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.46.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts anticipate that Zentalis Pharmaceuticals will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

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 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.