HC Wainwright Predicts Lower Earnings for Zenas BioPharma

Key Points

• HC Wainwright lowered its Q2 2026 EPS estimate for Zenas BioPharma to a loss of $1.46 per share from $1.29, while keeping a Buy rating and $44 price target.
• Zenas BioPharma beat quarterly expectations in its latest earnings report, posting a loss of $1.46 per share versus the $1.47 consensus estimate, though results were still worse than the prior-year loss of $0.80 per share.
• The stock fell 7.8% to $16.91 as investors weighed mixed analyst sentiment and recent insider buying, including purchases by Director Hongbo Lu and Fairmount Funds Management.

Zenas BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZBIO - Free Report) - Research analysts at HC Wainwright decreased their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research report issued on Friday, May 15th. HC Wainwright analyst M. Caufield now forecasts that the company will earn ($1.46) per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of ($1.29). HC Wainwright currently has a "Buy" rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Zenas BioPharma's current full-year earnings is ($4.25) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Zenas BioPharma's Q3 2026 earnings at ($1.46) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.70) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($5.06) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($4.34) EPS, FY2028 earnings at ($3.84) EPS, FY2029 earnings at ($3.18) EPS and FY2030 earnings at ($1.79) EPS.

Zenas BioPharma (NASDAQ:ZBIO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($1.46) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.01. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.80) EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ZBIO. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Zenas BioPharma from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Zenas BioPharma from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Zenas BioPharma from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Zenas BioPharma from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Zenas BioPharma currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.29.

Zenas BioPharma Trading Down 7.8%

ZBIO stock opened at $16.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.00 and a beta of -0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 11.94, a current ratio of 11.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.62. Zenas BioPharma has a 52 week low of $8.91 and a 52 week high of $44.60.

Insider Activity

In other Zenas BioPharma news, Director Hongbo Lu bought 3,768 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.63 per share, for a total transaction of $70,197.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 426,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,950,091.68. The trade was a 0.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Fairmount Funds Management Llc purchased 150,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,359,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,180,500. This represents a 6.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired 273,768 shares of company stock worth $5,150,198 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 22.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Zenas BioPharma in the third quarter worth about $30,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Zenas BioPharma in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Zenas BioPharma by 120.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,146 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in Zenas BioPharma by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,178 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter.

About Zenas BioPharma

Zenas BioPharma, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies in oncology and infectious diseases. The company's proprietary platform integrates structure-guided design, computational modeling and high-throughput screening to address challenging protein-protein interactions. Zenas BioPharma is advancing multiple preclinical and clinical-stage candidates aimed at providing new treatment options where current modalities may be limited by efficacy or safety concerns.

Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Zenas BioPharma was built to streamline the drug discovery process from target identification through to IND-enabling studies.

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