Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on ZNTL. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $5.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Zentalis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.17.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of ZNTL stock opened at $2.10 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.94. The firm has a market cap of $151.73 million, a P/E ratio of -1.11 and a beta of 1.71. Zentalis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $1.01 and a 1-year high of $3.95.

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.41) by ($0.08). On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zentalis Pharmaceuticals will post -2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Vincent Vultaggio sold 29,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.43, for a total transaction of $72,780.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 156,779 shares in the company, valued at $380,972.97. The trade was a 16.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Group Walters acquired 6,459,973 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.20 per share, with a total value of $7,751,967.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 13,509,973 shares in the company, valued at $16,211,967.60. The trade was a 91.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 46,617 shares of company stock worth $113,417. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZNTL. 5AM Venture Management LLC grew its position in shares of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals by 705.7% during the fourth quarter. 5AM Venture Management LLC now owns 3,947,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,330,000 after acquiring an additional 3,457,913 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals by 220.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,069,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,951 shares during the last quarter. Ishara Investments LP acquired a new position in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,782,000. Opaleye Management Inc. boosted its stake in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals by 342.6% during the 4th quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 1,400,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,356 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Zentalis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,126,000.

About Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing small molecule therapeutics for oncology. Leveraging a proprietary structure-based drug discovery platform, the company designs selective inhibitors aimed at critical cancer targets. Zentalis’ research and development efforts center on delivering differentiated therapies that address unmet medical needs in solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.

The company’s lead product candidate, ZN-c3, is an orally administered inhibitor of the p53-MDM2 interaction, currently being evaluated in Phase I clinical trials for advanced solid tumors and hematologic cancers.