Zenas BioPharma (NASDAQ:ZBIO) Stock Price Up 7.7% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 7.7% intraday to $20.85 on Monday, but trading volume was roughly 90% below average, indicating the move occurred on light liquidity.
• Analyst coverage is mixed—six Buy, one Hold and two Sell—with a MarketBeat average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.14, implying significant analyst-implied upside.
• Insiders are buyers: CEO Leon Moulder purchased 35,000 shares at $17.62, insiders bought 259,613 shares over the last 90 days and now own about 22% of the company.

Zenas BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZBIO - Get Free Report) shares were up 7.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $20.73 and last traded at $20.8450. Approximately 89,357 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 893,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ZBIO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on Zenas BioPharma from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Zenas BioPharma from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Zenas BioPharma from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zenas BioPharma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.14.

Zenas BioPharma Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -2.76 and a beta of -0.61. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.10.

Zenas BioPharma (NASDAQ:ZBIO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The company reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that Zenas BioPharma, Inc. will post -4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zenas BioPharma news, CEO Leon O. Moulder, Jr. purchased 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.62 per share, for a total transaction of $616,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,786,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,470,007.18. The trade was a 2.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia L. Allen purchased 4,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.36 per share, for a total transaction of $109,657.60. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 19,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $523,509.60. The trade was a 26.50% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired a total of 259,613 shares of company stock worth $5,221,863 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 22.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zenas BioPharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 34.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,134 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 12,781 shares of the company's stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,178 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 3.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 20,382 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 5.8% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,809 shares of the company's stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period.

About Zenas BioPharma

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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