LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) Shares Up 9.5% – Here’s What Happened

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LENZ)’s share price was up 9.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $18.08 and last traded at $18.17. Approximately 508,271 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 996,669 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on LENZ. Zacks Research cut shares of LENZ Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of LENZ Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 20th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of LENZ Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LENZ Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of LENZ Therapeutics to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LENZ Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.40.

LENZ Therapeutics Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a market cap of $572.29 million, a P/E ratio of -8.67 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.51.

LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.67) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $12.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LENZ Therapeutics news, insider Shawn Olsson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total value of $261,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,531.30. This represents a 67.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel R. Chevallard purchased 2,198 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.76 per share, for a total transaction of $50,026.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 5,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,585.36. This trade represents a 68.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of LENZ Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Saturn V Capital Management LP purchased a new position in LENZ Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,033,000. Stempoint Capital LP bought a new position in shares of LENZ Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,390,000. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LENZ Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,268,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LENZ Therapeutics by 15.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 416,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,198,000 after purchasing an additional 55,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in LENZ Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $5,020,000. Institutional investors own 54.32% of the company’s stock.

About LENZ Therapeutics

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to improve vision in the United States. Its product candidates include LNZ100 and LNZ101 which are in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of presbyopia. The company is headquartered in Del Mar, California.