LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) Stock Price Down 3.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• LENZ Therapeutics shares fell by 3.6% to $28.88, with a significant decline in trading volume at 75% below the average daily volume.
• Several analysts have a positive outlook on LENZ, with Piper Sandler setting a price target of $51 and a consensus target of $49.60 from five buy ratings and one strong buy rating.
• Institutional investors have increased their stakes in LENZ Therapeutics, with Raymond James and American Century taking substantial positions during the fourth quarter.

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LENZ - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 3.6% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $28.61 and last traded at $28.88. 62,410 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 246,881 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of LENZ Therapeutics from $38.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of LENZ Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of LENZ Therapeutics from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of LENZ Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LENZ Therapeutics has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.60.

LENZ Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $938.09 million, a P/E ratio of -17.48 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.17.

LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.58) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LENZ Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LENZ Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $245,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LENZ Therapeutics by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 32,506 shares of the company's stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 8,631 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of LENZ Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in LENZ Therapeutics by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,178,447 shares of the company's stock worth $34,022,000 after purchasing an additional 59,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in LENZ Therapeutics by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.32% of the company's stock.

About LENZ Therapeutics

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to improve vision in the United States. Its product candidates include LNZ100 and LNZ101 which are in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of presbyopia. The company is headquartered in Del Mar, California.