HC Wainwright Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) Stock

Key Points

• HC Wainwright raised its price target on Denali from $32 to $42 and maintains a "buy" rating, implying about an 86.92% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $33.70—most recent coverage is positive (2 Strong Buy, 10 Buy, 1 Hold, 1 Sell) and several firms have recently lifted targets.
• Insiders (including CEO Ryan J. Watts) sold shares in January—insiders own 12.5% while institutions/hedge funds own ~92.92%—and the stock trades near $22.47 (market cap $3.56B) after reporting a ($0.73) EPS last quarter, slightly beating estimates.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at HC Wainwright from $32.00 to $42.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. HC Wainwright's price objective suggests a potential upside of 86.92% from the stock's current price.

DNLI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Denali Therapeutics from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a report on Monday, March 2nd. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Denali Therapeutics from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Denali Therapeutics from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.70.

Denali Therapeutics Trading Up 7.2%

DNLI opened at $22.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.57 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $20.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.80. Denali Therapeutics has a one year low of $10.57 and a one year high of $23.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 9.16 and a current ratio of 9.16.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Denali Therapeutics news, CEO Ryan J. Watts sold 35,198 shares of Denali Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total value of $580,767.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 296,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,897,744.50. The trade was a 10.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Alexander O. Schuth sold 17,218 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider directly owned 282,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,666,662. The trade was a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 12.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC purchased a new stake in Denali Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $14,520,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Denali Therapeutics by 224.1% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 74,422 shares of the company's stock worth $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 51,458 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 23.4% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,113,586 shares of the company's stock worth $16,169,000 after acquiring an additional 210,835 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 18.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,271,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,458,000 after acquiring an additional 198,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 32.5% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 386,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,408,000 after acquiring an additional 94,744 shares in the last quarter. 92.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Denali Therapeutics

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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