Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd Acquires New Position in Denali Therapeutics Inc. $DNLI

Key Points

• Capricorn Fund Managers opened a new position in Denali Therapeutics in Q4, buying 62,197 shares worth about $1.03 million, while institutional ownership of DNLI stands at a high 92.92% with other large moves including Foresite’s ~$14.52M stake and Holocene’s 677.8% increase to 3,135,712 shares.
• Insiders sold shares on January 6 — CEO Ryan J. Watts sold 35,198 shares (~$580,767), a 10.6% reduction in his holding, and Alexander Schuth sold 17,218 shares (~$284,097); insiders now own 12.50% of the stock.
• Wall Street is generally bullish on DNLI with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.82, as several firms raised targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley to $42, Stifel to $41), implying upside from the recent ~$20.65 share price.

Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:DNLI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 62,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,027,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $14,520,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Denali Therapeutics by 224.1% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 74,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 51,458 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,113,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,169,000 after buying an additional 210,835 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,271,190 shares of the company's stock worth $18,458,000 after buying an additional 198,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 677.8% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,135,712 shares of the company's stock worth $45,531,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732,540 shares during the last quarter. 92.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Alexander O. Schuth sold 17,218 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total value of $284,097.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,666,662. The trade was a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan J. Watts sold 35,198 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total transaction of $580,767.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 296,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,897,744.50. This represents a 10.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DNLI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Denali Therapeutics from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Denali Therapeutics from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Denali Therapeutics from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Denali Therapeutics from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Denali Therapeutics from $34.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.82.

Denali Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of DNLI stock opened at $20.65 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 9.16, a quick ratio of 9.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.08. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.95 and a beta of 1.10. Denali Therapeutics Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.57 and a 12-month high of $23.77.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.75) by $0.02. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.67) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Denali Therapeutics Inc. will post -2.71 EPS for the current year.

Denali Therapeutics Profile

Denali Therapeutics is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. The company's research leverages a proprietary Blood–Brain Barrier Transport Vehicle (TV) platform designed to enable large molecules, including antibodies and enzymes, to penetrate the central nervous system. Denali's approach includes small molecules, monoclonal antibodies and gene therapy candidates aimed at key drivers of disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia.

Among Denali's lead programs is an orally delivered leucine‐rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) inhibitor for Parkinson's disease, and an anti‐TREM2 antibody designed to modulate microglial activity in Alzheimer's patients.

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