Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) Stock

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird raised its price target on Denali Therapeutics from $29 to $32 and maintained an outperform rating, implying roughly a 42% upside from the stock's current level.
• Analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $33.70 average target (2 Strong Buy, 10 Buy, 1 Hold, 1 Sell), showing mixed but generally positive sentiment.
• Shares opened at $22.47 (up ~7.2%) with a market cap of about $3.56B, but the company posts negative earnings (P/E -7.57) and insiders, including the CEO, sold stock in January.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $29.00 to $32.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective suggests a potential upside of 42.41% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on DNLI. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group started coverage on Denali Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Denali Therapeutics from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.70.

Denali Therapeutics Stock Up 7.2%

DNLI stock opened at $22.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 9.16 and a quick ratio of 9.16. Denali Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $10.57 and a 52-week high of $23.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.57 and a beta of 1.02.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.75) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.67) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Denali Therapeutics will post -2.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Denali Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Ryan J. Watts sold 35,198 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total transaction of $580,767.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 296,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,897,744.50. This trade represents a 10.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Alexander O. Schuth sold 17,218 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,828 shares in the company, valued at $4,666,662. The trade was a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 12.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Denali Therapeutics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Foresite Capital Management VI LLC acquired a new stake in Denali Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $14,520,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Denali Therapeutics by 224.1% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 74,422 shares of the company's stock worth $1,081,000 after buying an additional 51,458 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,113,586 shares of the company's stock worth $16,169,000 after buying an additional 210,835 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,271,190 shares of the company's stock worth $18,458,000 after buying an additional 198,207 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 32.5% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 92.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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