Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNTL) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $11.72, but opened at $12.43. Zentalis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $11.97, with a volume of 21,831 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.77) by $0.91. The business had revenue of $40.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.07) earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush raised their price target on Zentalis Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Melissa B. Epperly sold 2,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.44, for a total transaction of $29,435.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 451,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,164,576.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Melissa B. Epperly sold 2,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.44, for a total transaction of $29,435.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 451,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,164,576.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Diana Hausman sold 3,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.62, for a total value of $42,352.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 373,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,718,315.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,102 shares of company stock worth $85,207 in the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 11,559,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,134,000 after acquiring an additional 3,745,936 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,236,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,047,000 after buying an additional 307,490 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,160,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,733,000 after buying an additional 212,872 shares during the period. Decheng Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,809,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,917,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,457,000 after buying an additional 8,661 shares during the last quarter.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $889.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.74 and a beta of 1.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.70 and a 200 day moving average of $13.43.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of various cancers. Its products candidatures include the ZN-c3, an inhibitor of WEE1, a protein tyrosine kinase for the treatment of inhibitor for advanced solid tumors and hematological malignancies; in Phase 2 clinical trial as a monotherapy for the treatment of uterine serous carcinoma indications; Phase 2 clinical trial in Cyclin E1 driven high-grade serous ovarian cancer, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer; Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with PARPi for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer; Phase 1b clinical trial in combination with chemotherapy in platinum-resistant ovarian, and peritoneal or fallopian tube cancer; Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with chemotherapy in relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma; Phase 1/2 clinical trial with encorafenib and cetuximab for mutant metastatic colorectal cancer; and Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer.