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

Zenas BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZBIO) shares 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.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ZBIO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Zenas BioPharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Zenas BioPharma from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $37.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Six 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Zenas BioPharma currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.14.

Zenas BioPharma Trading Up 23.0%

The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.80 and a beta of -1.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.27. The company has a quick ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 5.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zenas BioPharma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 34.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Zenas BioPharma during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Zenas BioPharma by 120.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,716 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Zenas BioPharma by 41.2% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 2,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in shares of Zenas BioPharma during the 2nd quarter worth $118,000.

Zenas BioPharma Company Profile

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.