Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) Shares Up 11.3% – Here’s Why

Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:DNLI)’s stock price traded up 11.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $20.74 and last traded at $20.6940. 1,583,727 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average session volume of 1,554,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Denali Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $37.00 price target on Denali Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Denali Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.77.

Denali Therapeutics Trading Up 12.5%

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of -7.19 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 9.79 and a current ratio of 9.79.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.63) earnings per share. Denali Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Denali Therapeutics Inc. will post -2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Denali Therapeutics news, CEO Ryan J. Watts sold 35,198 shares of Denali Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total value of $580,767.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 296,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,897,744.50. The trade was a 10.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alexander O. Schuth sold 17,218 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total value of $284,097.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,666,662. This represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 12.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Denali Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Denali Therapeutics by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 386,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,408,000 after purchasing an additional 94,744 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Denali Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,224,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its stake in Denali Therapeutics by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 216,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,148,000 after purchasing an additional 74,066 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $324,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Denali Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $4,797,000. 92.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Denali Therapeutics

Denali Therapeutics is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. The company’s research leverages a proprietary Blood–Brain Barrier Transport Vehicle (TV) platform designed to enable large molecules, including antibodies and enzymes, to penetrate the central nervous system. Denali’s approach includes small molecules, monoclonal antibodies and gene therapy candidates aimed at key drivers of disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia.

Among Denali’s lead programs is an orally delivered leucine‐rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) inhibitor for Parkinson’s disease, and an anti‐TREM2 antibody designed to modulate microglial activity in Alzheimer’s patients.