Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) Trading 11.3% Higher – Here’s Why

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DNLI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Denali Therapeutics from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $37.00 target price on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.77.

Denali Therapeutics Stock Down 3.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of -6.96 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.96. The company has a current ratio of 9.79, a quick ratio of 9.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) last announced its earnings results 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 in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.63) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Denali Therapeutics Inc. will post -2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Denali Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Ryan J. Watts sold 35,198 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 transaction of $580,767.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 296,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,897,744.50. This represents a 10.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alexander O. Schuth sold 17,218 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 282,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,666,662. This represents a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 12.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Denali Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DNLI. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in Denali Therapeutics by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 12,310,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,253,000 after purchasing an additional 719,304 shares during the period. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new stake in Denali Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $1,027,000. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in Denali Therapeutics by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,032,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,564,000 after purchasing an additional 919,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 368,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,092,000 after buying an additional 9,250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.92% of the company’s stock.

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.