Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Denali Therapeutics Inc. $DNLI

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Denali Therapeutics Inc. by 96.2%, now owning only 20,952 shares after selling 530,140 shares, valuing their investment at approximately $285,000.
• Institutional investors collectively hold 92.92% of Denali Therapeutics' stock, indicating strong institutional support despite changes in individual fund positions.
• The stock recently opened at $15.43 and reported a quarterly earnings per share of ($0.72), which exceeded analysts' expectations.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:DNLI - Free Report) by 96.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,952 shares of the company's stock after selling 530,140 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Denali Therapeutics were worth $285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,561,647 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Denali Therapeutics by 42.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,367,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308,619 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Denali Therapeutics by 269.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,493,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,844 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Denali Therapeutics by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,201,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,487,000 after purchasing an additional 115,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 3.0% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 858,162 shares of the company's stock worth $11,667,000 after acquiring an additional 25,185 shares in the last quarter. 92.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on DNLI. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. TD Cowen raised shares of Denali Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Denali Therapeutics from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Denali Therapeutics Stock Performance

DNLI traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,672,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,479,977. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 10.27 and a current ratio of 10.27. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of -5.23 and a beta of 1.23. Denali Therapeutics Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.57 and a 12-month high of $33.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.52.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.72) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.74) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.59) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Denali Therapeutics Inc. will post -2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Denali Therapeutics

In related news, insider Alexander O. Schuth sold 2,937 shares of the company'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 transaction of $39,884.46. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 242,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,291,058.68. This represents a 1.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan J. Watts sold 495,282 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 253,071 shares in the company, valued at $3,796,065. The trade was a 66.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 501,962 shares of company stock worth $7,520,799. 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.