Zealand Pharma A/S (OTCMKTS:ZLDPF) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares gapped up premarket — opened at $50.77 vs. the prior close of $46.93 and last traded at $51.65, up about 11.3% on light volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: three Strong Buy and five Hold ratings result in an average rating of "Moderate Buy", with recent cuts including BNP Paribas Exane lowering its view to Hold.
• Quarterly results showed an EPS beat (reported ($0.81) vs. consensus ($1.34)) but a revenue miss ($10.79M vs. $19.69M), and analysts expect a full-year EPS of about -2.19; the company emphasizes its peptide pipeline, including dasiglucagon.

Zealand Pharma A/S (OTCMKTS:ZLDPF - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $46.93, but opened at $50.7725. Zealand Pharma A/S shares last traded at $51.65, with a volume of 355 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on ZLDPF shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Zealand Pharma A/S in a research note on Friday, March 6th. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Zealand Pharma A/S in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered Zealand Pharma A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Zealand Pharma A/S Trading Up 11.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.53. The company has a current ratio of 23.57, a quick ratio of 23.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Zealand Pharma A/S (OTCMKTS:ZLDPF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.34) by $0.53. The business had revenue of $10.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.69 million. Zealand Pharma A/S had a return on equity of 48.10% and a net margin of 70.06%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Zealand Pharma A/S will post -2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Zealand Pharma A/S

Zealand Pharma A/S is a Denmark‐based biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery, design and development of peptide‐based therapeutics. Utilizing proprietary peptide engineering platforms, the company focuses on metabolic and endocrine disorders, including diabetes and rare gastrointestinal diseases. Zealand employs a rational design approach to optimize stability, selectivity and dosing profiles of its candidates, aiming to improve patient outcomes where current treatment options are limited.

Among the most advanced assets in Zealand's pipeline is dasiglucagon, a stable glucagon analog designed for the emergency treatment of severe hypoglycemia.

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