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

Zenas BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZBIO)’s share price 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 trading hands.

Specifically, CEO Leon O. Moulder, Jr. purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.55 per share, with a total value of $331,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 366,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,059,865.25. The trade was a 5.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Leon O. Moulder, Jr. purchased 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.30 per share, for a total transaction of $489,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 346,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,642,326.50. The trade was a 9.49% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In related news, CEO Leon O. Moulder, Jr. purchased 50,000 shares of Zenas BioPharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.38 per share, for a total transaction of $819,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 316,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,178,618.90. This represents a 18.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on ZBIO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley downgraded Zenas BioPharma from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Zenas BioPharma from $27.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.14.

Zenas BioPharma Trading Up 9.0%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.36. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.05 and a beta of -1.45.

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

Institutional Trading of Zenas BioPharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Zenas BioPharma by 34.5% in the 3rd 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 period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Zenas BioPharma in the third quarter worth $30,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 120.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,716 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Zenas BioPharma by 41.2% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 2,679 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in Zenas BioPharma during the second quarter worth about $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.