William Blair Issues Optimistic Forecast for DNLI Earnings

Key Points

• William Blair increased their Q3 2025 EPS estimate for Denali Therapeutics from ($0.84) to ($0.77) per share, maintaining a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock.
• Denali Therapeutics reported Q2 earnings of (0.72) EPS, surpassing the consensus estimates of (0.74) EPS.
• Analyst ratings show strong support for Denali, with thirteen buy ratings and an average price target of $33.85.

Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:DNLI - Free Report) - Research analysts at William Blair increased their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Denali Therapeutics in a report released on Tuesday, August 12th. William Blair analyst M. Minter now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of ($0.77) for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of ($0.84). William Blair currently has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Denali Therapeutics' current full-year earnings is ($2.71) per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Denali Therapeutics' Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.82) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($3.09) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($3.49) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($2.78) EPS and FY2028 earnings at ($0.41) EPS.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.72) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.74) by $0.02. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.59) earnings per share.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. HC Wainwright reduced their price target on shares of Denali Therapeutics from $80.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Denali Therapeutics from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Denali Therapeutics from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Denali Therapeutics from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Denali Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $33.62.

Denali Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ DNLI traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $14.74. 404,217 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,406,535. Denali Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $10.57 and a 1 year high of $33.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.26 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 10.27 and a current ratio of 10.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.30 and a 200 day moving average of $15.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Denali Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Denali Therapeutics by 589.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,773 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 277.0% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. 92.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Denali Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Ryan J. Watts sold 495,282 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $7,429,230.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 253,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,796,065. This represents a 66.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carole Ho sold 2,937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total transaction of $39,884.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 217,391 shares in the company, valued at $2,952,169.78. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 501,962 shares of company stock valued at $7,520,799. Insiders own 12.50% of the company's stock.

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.