Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL) Stock Rating Raised to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. William Blair began coverage on Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.50.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $2.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.40 and a 200 day moving average of $3.86. Zentalis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $1.21 and a 12 month high of $6.95. The firm has a market cap of $166.27 million, a PE ratio of -1.19 and a beta of 1.93.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.10). As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zentalis Pharmaceuticals will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, major shareholder Group Walters purchased 4,335,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.50 per share, for a total transaction of $15,172,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 17,844,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,457,405.50. This trade represents a 32.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ZNTL. Spark Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $61,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $126,000. Stonepine Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $783,678. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals by 188.7% during the 2nd quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 317,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 207,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,406,000.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: ZNTL) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing small-molecule medicines for the treatment of cancer. The company’s research programs are designed to target biological pathways involved in tumor growth, survival and resistance to existing therapies.

Zentalis’ lead investigational product is azenosertib, also known as ZN-c3, an oral WEE1 inhibitor being evaluated in clinical trials for several advanced cancers.