Yiheng Capital Management L.P. Sells 230,117 Shares of Denali Therapeutics Inc. $DNLI

Key Points

• Yiheng Capital Management L.P. reduced its holdings in Denali Therapeutics by 32.9% in Q1, now owning 469,981 shares valued at approximately $6.39 million, marking it as the 12th largest position in their portfolio.
• Shares of Denali Therapeutics saw a 4.3% increase in trading, opening at $15.43, despite recent earnings reporting a loss of ($0.72) per share, slightly better than analyst expectations.
• Investors remain optimistic, with three analysts rating it as a Strong Buy while the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $33.62.

Yiheng Capital Management L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:DNLI - Free Report) by 32.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 469,981 shares of the company's stock after selling 230,117 shares during the period. Denali Therapeutics comprises about 0.6% of Yiheng Capital Management L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Yiheng Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.32% of Denali Therapeutics worth $6,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DNLI. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased 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 buying an additional 1,308,619 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Denali Therapeutics by 269.4% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,493,068 shares of the company's stock worth $20,298,000 after buying an additional 1,088,844 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its position in Denali Therapeutics by 1,240.9% during the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 551,092 shares of the company's stock worth $11,231,000 after purchasing an additional 509,992 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Denali Therapeutics by 822.4% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 416,074 shares of the company's stock worth $8,480,000 after purchasing an additional 370,966 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DNLI. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Denali Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Denali Therapeutics from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Denali Therapeutics from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $33.50.

Denali Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of DNLI stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $14.44. The stock had a trading volume of 809,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,476,318. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $14.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.48. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.57 and a 12 month high of $33.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of -5.17 and a beta of 1.23.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.72) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.74) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.59) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Denali Therapeutics Inc. will post -2.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Denali Therapeutics

In related news, insider Alexander O. Schuth sold 2,937 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total value of $39,884.46. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 242,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,291,058.68. This trade represents a 1.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan J. Watts sold 495,282 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $7,429,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 253,071 shares in the company, valued at $3,796,065. This represents a 66.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 501,962 shares of company stock valued at $7,520,799 over the last three months. 12.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.