Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) Trading Up 11.1% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Denali Therapeutics' stock increased by 11.1% during mid-day trading, reaching a high of $14.68 despite lower overall trading volume compared to its average.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Denali, with target price adjustments; Wedbush reduced its target from $32 to $30 while Bank of America lowered its target from $28 to $27, yet many analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Buy."
• CEO Ryan J. Watts sold a significant portion of his shares in July, which represented a 66.18% decrease in his ownership, highlighting potential concerns among insiders regarding the company’s stock performance.

Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) shares were up 11.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $14.44 and last traded at $14.68. Approximately 330,653 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 1,398,720 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DNLI. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Denali Therapeutics from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. TD Cowen raised Denali Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Denali Therapeutics from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. William Blair upgraded Denali Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Denali Therapeutics from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.62.

Denali Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.29 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.19. The company has a current ratio of 10.27, a quick ratio of 10.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.72) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.74) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.59) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Denali Therapeutics Inc. will post -2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Denali Therapeutics

In other Denali Therapeutics news, insider Alexander O. Schuth sold 2,937 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total value of $39,884.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 242,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,291,058.68. This represents a 1.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Carole Ho sold 2,937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total transaction of $39,884.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 217,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,952,169.78. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 501,962 shares of company stock worth $7,520,799 in the last quarter. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Denali Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 290,000 shares of the company's stock worth $4,057,000 after buying an additional 40,000 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Denali Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $199,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Denali Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 325.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,669 shares of the company's stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 10,457 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.92% of the company's stock.

About Denali Therapeutics

Denali Therapeutics Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops a portfolio of product candidates engineered to cross the blood-brain barrier for neurodegenerative diseases and lysosomal storage diseases in the United States. The company's transport vehicle (TV)-enabled programs include DNL310 ETV, an IDS enzyme replacement therapy program for MPS II; TAK-594/DNL593 which is in Phase 1/II for frontotemporal dementia-granulin; DNL126 program for MPS IIIA; and DNL622 for MPS I, as well as other preclinical programs that target amyloid beta and HER2.