Zenas BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZBIO) Short Interest Up 18.8% in February

Zenas BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZBIO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 7,801,280 shares, an increase of 18.8% from the January 29th total of 6,568,745 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 927,276 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.4 days. Currently, 17.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 17.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 927,276 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.4 days.

Zenas BioPharma Trading Down 1.5%

ZBIO opened at $25.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.66 and a current ratio of 5.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.59. Zenas BioPharma has a one year low of $6.11 and a one year high of $44.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.56 and a beta of -1.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Zenas BioPharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zenas BioPharma news, CEO Leon O. Moulder, Jr. purchased 57,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.96 per share, with a total value of $1,023,720.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 423,155 shares in the company, valued at $7,599,863.80. This trade represents a 15.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia L. Allen acquired 4,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.36 per share, with a total value of $109,657.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $523,509.60. The trade was a 26.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 202,845 shares of company stock worth $3,747,185. Insiders own 16.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Zenas BioPharma

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,679 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 16,461 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Zenas BioPharma by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 13,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 71.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 8,207 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 60.8% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,861,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,041,000 after acquiring an additional 703,838 shares in the last quarter.

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.