Zenas BioPharma (NASDAQ:ZBIO) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Zenas BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZBIO) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $16.08, but opened at $17.24. Zenas BioPharma shares last traded at $19.41, with a volume of 337,494 shares changing hands.

Specifically, CEO Leon O. Moulder, Jr. bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.55 per share, with a total value of $331,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 366,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,059,865.25. This represents a 5.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon O. Moulder, Jr. purchased 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.30 per share, with a total value of $489,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 346,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,642,326.50. The trade was a 9.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In other Zenas BioPharma news, CEO Leon O. Moulder, Jr. acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.38 per share, for a total transaction of $819,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 316,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,178,618.90. This represents a 18.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ZBIO shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Zenas BioPharma from $27.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Zenas BioPharma in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Zenas BioPharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.14.

Zenas BioPharma Trading Up 18.8%

The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.70 and a beta of -1.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.66 and a current ratio of 5.66.

Zenas BioPharma (NASDAQ:ZBIO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($1.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by ($0.35).

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zenas BioPharma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Zenas BioPharma by 60.8% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,861,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,041,000 after buying an additional 703,838 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Zenas BioPharma by 17.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,162,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,813,000 after purchasing an additional 170,546 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in Zenas BioPharma during the third quarter worth $3,237,000. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zenas BioPharma in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,595,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 373,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 16,461 shares in the last quarter.

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.