LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LENZ) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $14.75 According to Brokerages

Shares of LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LENZ) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.75.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded LENZ Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered LENZ Therapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Citigroup dropped their price target on LENZ Therapeutics from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on LENZ Therapeutics to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of LENZ Therapeutics from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Ra Capital Management, L.P. sold 2,718,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.36, for a total value of $9,134,778.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 57,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $193,398.24. This represents a 97.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LENZ Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LENZ. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in LENZ Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,019,000. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of LENZ Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $4,298,000. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in LENZ Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $2,682,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in LENZ Therapeutics by 377.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 547,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,010,000 after purchasing an additional 432,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BML Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in LENZ Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $1,087,000. 54.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LENZ Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LENZ traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3.50. 785,586 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,111,717. The firm has a market cap of $109.97 million, a PE ratio of -0.78 and a beta of 0.78. LENZ Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $2.80 and a fifty-two week high of $32.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.73.

LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.10). LENZ Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 56.10% and a negative net margin of 1,134.97%. The business had revenue of $3.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 million. As a group, analysts predict that LENZ Therapeutics will post -4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About LENZ Therapeutics

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing ophthalmic medicines for the treatment of presbyopia, the age-related loss of near vision. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and its programs are designed to provide an alternative to reading glasses and other corrective lenses.

LENZ’s primary product candidate is aceclidine ophthalmic solution, developed under the names LNZ100 and VIZZ. The pupil-selective miotic is intended to improve near vision while preserving distance vision, without relying on the lens-shaping mechanism targeted by some other presbyopia treatments.