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 Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $19.72, but opened at $21.21. Zenas BioPharma shares last traded at $21.70, with a volume of 247,461 shares.

Specifically, CEO Leon O. Moulder, Jr. bought 57,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.96 per share, for a total transaction of $1,023,720.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 423,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,599,863.80. This trade represents a 15.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ZBIO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Zenas BioPharma from $27.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Zenas BioPharma in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Zenas BioPharma from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $37.00 to $19.00 in a report on Monday, January 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zenas BioPharma presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.14.

Key Headlines Impacting Zenas BioPharma

Here are the key news stories impacting Zenas BioPharma this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Leon Moulder Jr. bought 57,000 shares (~$1.02M) at an average $17.96, increasing his stake by ~15.6% — a sizeable insider purchase that investors often view as a strong vote of confidence. Insider purchase filing
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst consensus is supportive: the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus and several buy ratings/targets above current levels, which can sustain buying interest. Analyst recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: Zenas management will present at the Guggenheim Emerging Outlook: Biotech Summit (Feb 11), providing additional analyst/investor visibility and an opportunity to highlight clinical progress. Guggenheim presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-term technical/market coverage (rising relative price strength and articles explaining a 10%+ intraday move) is amplifying momentum but may be transient. Momentum coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Upcoming earnings (company projected to post results soon) and a prior quarterly EPS miss (reported loss larger than estimates) create downside risk if guidance or results disappoint. Earnings risk could trigger volatility despite the insider buy. Earnings projection and risk

Zenas BioPharma Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 5.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $29.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.97 and a beta of -1.50.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zenas BioPharma by 41.2% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 2,679 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Zenas BioPharma by 4.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 373,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 16,461 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Zenas BioPharma by 13.9% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 13,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Zenas BioPharma by 71.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 8,207 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 703,838 shares during the period.

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.