HC Wainwright Brokers Raise Earnings Estimates for DNLI

Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:DNLI) – Equities research analysts at HC Wainwright boosted their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research report issued on Monday, March 2nd. HC Wainwright analyst A. Fein now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of ($0.72) for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of ($0.73). The consensus estimate for Denali Therapeutics’ current full-year earnings is ($2.71) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Denali Therapeutics’ Q2 2026 earnings at ($0.72) EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.75) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.75) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($2.94) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($1.52) EPS, FY2028 earnings at ($0.41) EPS, FY2029 earnings at $0.76 EPS and FY2030 earnings at $2.03 EPS.

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.75) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.67) EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Denali Therapeutics from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group started coverage on Denali Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $37.00 target price on Denali Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Denali Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Denali Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.20.

Denali Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of DNLI opened at $19.70 on Thursday. Denali Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $10.57 and a 12 month high of $23.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.63 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 9.16, a quick ratio of 9.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in Denali Therapeutics by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 151,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 15,833 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,254,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615,565 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 291,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,820,000 after purchasing an additional 42,469 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $7,677,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Denali Therapeutics by 94.1% during the 4th quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 14,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 7,171 shares during the last quarter. 92.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Denali Therapeutics news, CEO Ryan J. Watts sold 35,198 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total value of $580,767.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 296,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,897,744.50. This represents a 10.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Alexander O. Schuth sold 17,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total value of $284,097.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 282,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,666,662. The trade was a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Denali Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Denali Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright nudged several near-term EPS forecasts slightly higher (Q1–Q4 2026 and FY2026 were revised modestly toward smaller losses), which can be read as incremental validation of execution and reduces near-term downside risk for the stock. HC Wainwright raises near-term EPS estimates
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG published a research note forecasting strong price appreciation for DNLI, which could attract momentum buyers and provide supportive demand if investors act on the bullish thesis. BTIG bullish forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest data is effectively zero/NaN and shows no meaningful shorting activity. That suggests there is little short-covering force to drive a short-squeeze rally, but also little bearish pressure from shorts at present.
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright also trimmed medium-term and longer-term forecasts (FY2027, FY2028, FY2029), reducing expected earnings outyears and lowering some growth assumptions—an update that can weigh on valuation and investor enthusiasm for multi-year upside. HC Wainwright lowers medium-term estimates

About Denali Therapeutics

Denali Therapeutics is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. The company’s research leverages a proprietary Blood–Brain Barrier Transport Vehicle (TV) platform designed to enable large molecules, including antibodies and enzymes, to penetrate the central nervous system. Denali’s approach includes small molecules, monoclonal antibodies and gene therapy candidates aimed at key drivers of disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia.

Among Denali’s lead programs is an orally delivered leucine‐rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) inhibitor for Parkinson’s disease, and an anti‐TREM2 antibody designed to modulate microglial activity in Alzheimer’s patients.