HC Wainwright Issues Optimistic Outlook for DNLI Earnings

Key Points

• HC Wainwright raised its Q2 2026 EPS estimate for Denali Therapeutics to $(0.67) from $(0.72) and kept a Buy rating with a $42 price target, reflecting a more optimistic outlook.
• Denali reported a Q1 result of $(0.69) EPS, which beat the consensus estimate of $(0.73) and was an improvement from the $(0.78) loss in the same quarter last year.
• Broader analyst sentiment remains constructive, with multiple firms maintaining or initiating Buy ratings and MarketBeat showing a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $34.50 average price target.

Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:DNLI - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at HC Wainwright upped their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for Denali Therapeutics in a research note issued on Friday, May 8th. HC Wainwright analyst A. Fein now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of ($0.67) for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of ($0.72). HC Wainwright has a "Buy" rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Denali Therapeutics' current full-year earnings is ($2.86) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Denali Therapeutics' Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.68) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.66) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($2.71) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($2.60) EPS, FY2028 earnings at ($2.52) EPS, FY2029 earnings at ($1.75) EPS and FY2030 earnings at ($0.28) EPS.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.73) by $0.04. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.78) EPS.

DNLI has been the topic of a number of other reports. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Denali Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Denali Therapeutics from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on Denali Therapeutics from $40.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Denali Therapeutics from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Denali Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ DNLI opened at $19.67 on Tuesday. Denali Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $12.58 and a fifty-two week high of $23.77. The stock's 50-day moving average is $20.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 9.28 and a quick ratio of 9.28. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.83 and a beta of 0.99.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Denali Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Denali Therapeutics by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,057,890 shares of the company's stock worth $215,586,000 after buying an additional 1,064,972 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in Denali Therapeutics by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 12,310,889 shares of the company's stock worth $203,253,000 after buying an additional 719,304 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Denali Therapeutics by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,254,132 shares of the company's stock worth $119,766,000 after buying an additional 1,615,565 shares in the last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its position in Denali Therapeutics by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 7,012,974 shares of the company's stock worth $115,784,000 after buying an additional 1,657,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Denali Therapeutics by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,263,371 shares of the company's stock worth $103,408,000 after buying an additional 799,110 shares in the last quarter. 92.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Denali Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Denali Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright kept a Buy rating on Denali Therapeutics and raised multiple earnings estimates for 2026-2030, signaling improved expectations for the company’s longer-term profitability. Denali Therapeutics NASDAQ: DNLI Given "Buy" Rating at BTIG Research
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research also reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $39 price target, reinforcing the bullish analyst sentiment around DNLI. BTIG Research Reiterates Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright’s updated estimates still point to losses in the near term, but the revisions were generally upward for 2026-2029 earnings, which may be seen as a gradual improvement rather than a fundamental breakthrough.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest data showed essentially no meaningful short position reported, so it does not appear to be a major current driver of the stock.

Denali Therapeutics Company 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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