Zenas BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZBIO) Short Interest Up 21.4% in March

Key Points

• Short interest up 21.4% in March: As of March 31 short interest totaled 9,362,107 shares (about 20.9% of shares) and the short-interest ratio is 7.5 days based on average daily volume.
• Significant insider buying: CEO Leon Moulder bought 57,000 shares at roughly $17.96 and Fairmount Funds bought 150,000 shares at $20, with insiders acquiring 256,613 shares (~$5.18M) in the past 90 days and now owning 22% of the stock.
• Analysts mixed but target above current price: The consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $44.14 (six Buys, one Hold, two Sells), while the stock trades near $21.76 and the company reported a ($1.10) EPS for the quarter.

Zenas BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZBIO - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 9,362,107 shares, a growth of 21.4% from the March 15th total of 7,709,823 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,251,928 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.5 days. Approximately 20.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ZBIO shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Zenas BioPharma from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Zenas BioPharma from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research downgraded Zenas BioPharma from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Zenas BioPharma from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.14.

Zenas BioPharma Trading Up 3.4%

NASDAQ ZBIO opened at $21.76 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $23.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.36. Zenas BioPharma has a twelve month low of $8.16 and a twelve month high of $44.60. The company has a quick ratio of 5.61, a current ratio of 5.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.79 and a beta of -0.54.

Zenas BioPharma (NASDAQ:ZBIO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zenas BioPharma news, CEO Leon O. Moulder, Jr. acquired 57,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.96 per share, for a total transaction of $1,023,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 423,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,599,863.80. This represents a 15.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Fairmount Funds Management Llc acquired 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,359,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,180,500. This represents a 6.79% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 256,613 shares of company stock worth $5,178,383. 22.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zenas BioPharma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZBIO. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Zenas BioPharma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Zenas BioPharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the last quarter.

Zenas BioPharma Company Profile

Zenas BioPharma, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies in oncology and infectious diseases. The company's proprietary platform integrates structure-guided design, computational modeling and high-throughput screening to address challenging protein-protein interactions. Zenas BioPharma is advancing multiple preclinical and clinical-stage candidates aimed at providing new treatment options where current modalities may be limited by efficacy or safety concerns.

Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Zenas BioPharma was built to streamline the drug discovery process from target identification through to IND-enabling studies.

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