Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) Trading 11.1% Higher - Still a 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.

Shares of Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) rose 11.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $14.44 and last traded at $14.68. Approximately 330,653 shares were traded 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

DNLI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush reduced their target price on Denali Therapeutics from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Denali Therapeutics from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on shares of Denali Therapeutics from $80.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. William Blair raised shares of Denali Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Denali Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.85.

Denali Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.49. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.19 and a beta of 1.36.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.72) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.74) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.59) EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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, CEO Ryan J. Watts sold 495,282 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $7,429,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 253,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,796,065. This trade represents a 66.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 12.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DNLI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Denali Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $55,224,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 88.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,766,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,996,000 after buying an additional 3,184,042 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 15.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,409,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,113,000 after buying an additional 1,561,647 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Denali Therapeutics by 42.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,367,234 shares of the company's stock worth $59,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308,619 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Denali Therapeutics by 269.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,493,068 shares of the company's stock worth $20,298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,844 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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