Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at TD Cowen

Key Points

• Denali Therapeutics has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by TD Cowen, reflecting positive sentiment from multiple analysts regarding the company's stock.
• Despite a recent earnings report indicating a loss of ($0.78) earnings per share, analysts still project a buy rating consensus with an average price target of $33.71.
• The company has seen significant insider selling, with CEO Ryan J. Watts reducing his stake by 66.18% after selling nearly 500,000 shares.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at TD Cowen to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on DNLI. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Denali Therapeutics from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company 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. Wedbush cut their price objective on Denali Therapeutics from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Denali Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Denali Therapeutics from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Denali Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.71.

Denali Therapeutics Trading Down 2.8%

DNLI traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $13.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,761,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,374,102. Denali Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $10.57 and a fifty-two week high of $33.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of -5.03 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.97.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.78) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.71) by ($0.07). During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.68) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Denali Therapeutics will post -2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $7,429,230.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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. Corporate insiders own 12.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Denali Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,021,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $244,993,000 after purchasing an additional 843,996 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Denali Therapeutics by 15.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,409,598 shares of the company's stock worth $155,113,000 after buying an additional 1,561,647 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Denali Therapeutics by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,019,746 shares of the company's stock worth $163,442,000 after buying an additional 188,368 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Denali Therapeutics by 88.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,766,916 shares of the company's stock worth $91,996,000 after buying an additional 3,184,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,308,619 shares in the last quarter. 92.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.