Zenas BioPharma (NASDAQ:ZBIO) Stock Price Down 6.6% on Disappointing Earnings

Key Points

• Zenas BioPharma shares fell 6.6% after the company reported quarterly EPS of $(1.77), missing the $(1.12) consensus estimate, while revenue of $1 million was far below the $15 million forecast.
• Despite the earnings miss, analysts maintain a generally positive outlook: six rate the stock a Buy, two a Hold and one a Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $44.29.
• CEO Leon O. Moulder Jr. purchased 60,000 shares for roughly $1.01 million, increasing his direct ownership by 162.5%; insiders collectively own 22% of the company.

Zenas BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZBIO - Get Free Report) shares dropped 6.6% on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $28.01 and last traded at $29.2150. 129,747 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 834,254 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.29.

The company reported ($1.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by ($0.65). The firm had revenue of $1.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.00 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ZBIO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Zenas BioPharma from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Zenas BioPharma from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Zenas BioPharma from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zenas BioPharma news, CEO Leon O. Moulder, Jr. bought 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.88 per share, for a total transaction of $1,012,800.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,636,144.64. The trade was a 162.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 22.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZBIO. SR One Capital Management LP lifted its position in Zenas BioPharma by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. SR One Capital Management LP now owns 5,037,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $182,924,000 after purchasing an additional 126,315 shares during the last quarter. NEA Management Company LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. NEA Management Company LLC now owns 3,523,219 shares of the company's stock worth $127,928,000 after buying an additional 789,500 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,715,578 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,603,000 after buying an additional 853,740 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zenas BioPharma during the 2nd quarter valued at $68,176,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,453,065 shares of the company's stock worth $52,761,000 after acquiring an additional 290,307 shares during the last quarter.

Zenas BioPharma Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of -3.43 and a beta of -1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 11.94, a current ratio of 11.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm's 50-day moving average is $26.49 and its 200-day moving average is $23.27.

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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