Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) Shares Up 11.6% on Strong Earnings

Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) shares shot up 11.6% during trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $20.25 and last traded at $18.81. 784,064 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 1,156,850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.85.

The company reported ($0.68) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.01. Denali Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 36.51% and a negative return on equity of 13.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.80) EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DNLI has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Denali Therapeutics from $70.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Denali Therapeutics from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Denali Therapeutics from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Denali Therapeutics from $73.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $40.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steve E. Krognes sold 92,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total transaction of $1,896,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 47,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $970,490.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Steve E. Krognes sold 92,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total transaction of $1,896,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $970,490.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Carole Ho sold 2,784 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.29, for a total transaction of $48,135.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 145,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,507,222.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 110,955 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,802. Company insiders own 7.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Denali Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its stake in Denali Therapeutics by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 205,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,221,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Denali Therapeutics by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 31,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,820 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Denali Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $88,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Denali Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $4,330,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 218,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,477,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. 92.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Denali Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.50 and a beta of 1.39. The business's 50 day moving average price is $18.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.84.

Denali Therapeutics Company Profile

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.