Day One Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:DAWN) Cut to Hold at JonesTrading

JonesTrading downgraded shares of Day One Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:DAWN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $21.50 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $20.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on DAWN. TD Cowen lowered Day One Biopharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Day One Biopharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. HC Wainwright decreased their price target on Day One Biopharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Day One Biopharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Day One Biopharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Day One Biopharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.56.

Day One Biopharmaceuticals Stock Up 65.9%

Day One Biopharmaceuticals stock opened at $21.20 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.08. The company has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of -20.58 and a beta of -1.25. Day One Biopharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $5.64 and a twelve month high of $21.23.

Day One Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:DAWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $53.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.81 million. Day One Biopharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 67.85% and a negative return on equity of 23.43%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Day One Biopharmaceuticals will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Day One Biopharmaceuticals news, CFO Charles N. York II sold 6,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.60, for a total value of $70,354.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 312,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,490. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lauren Merendino sold 5,814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.60, for a total value of $67,442.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 60,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $697,821.20. The trade was a 8.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,461 shares of company stock valued at $422,948. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Day One Biopharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,282,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,552,000 after buying an additional 101,047 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Day One Biopharmaceuticals by 94.4% during the fourth quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 5,200,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,464,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525,000 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Day One Biopharmaceuticals by 26.4% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 4,705,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,173,000 after purchasing an additional 982,282 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Day One Biopharmaceuticals by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,289,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Day One Biopharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,097,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,635,000 after purchasing an additional 79,255 shares during the period. 87.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Day One Biopharmaceuticals News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Day One Biopharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition announced — Servier agreed to buy Day One for $21.50 per share in cash (~$2.5 billion), a deal that crystallizes a takeover premium and explains the sharp rally; the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Q2 2026. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target raised — JonesTrading reiterated a “hold” but increased its price target to $21.50 (from $20.00), putting its target in line with the buyout price and reinforcing the deal valuation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Options and volume spike — Unusual call-option activity and extremely high trading volume point to takeover-driven speculative buying and arbitrage interest ahead of the deal close (increased open interest and buy-side activity tend to amplify intraday moves).
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading halt — Shares were temporarily halted earlier for “News pending,” a standard market pause when material corporate announcements are imminent; this is procedural and common around M&A.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ratings reaffirmed — Needham and JonesTrading reaffirmed their “hold” ratings (Needham also maintained its view) even as price targets moved; these keep analyst sentiment mixed despite the takeover. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple shareholder investigations and potential litigation — Several law firms (e.g., Brodsky & Smith, Ademi LLP, Halper Sadeh, Monteverde & Associates) announced probes into whether the Board obtained a fair price and followed a proper process; lawsuits or injunctions could delay closing, increase deal costs, or put pressure on the eventual net proceeds to shareholders. Article Title Article Title

Day One Biopharmaceuticals Company Profile

Day One Biopharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: DAWN) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of targeted therapies for oncology. The company employs a precision medicine approach, leveraging biomarker-driven strategies to identify patient populations most likely to respond to its investigational compounds. By concentrating on well-validated molecular drivers of cancer, Day One seeks to deliver first-in-class or best-in-class therapies with the potential for meaningful clinical benefit.

The company’s pipeline includes several small-molecule candidates in various stages of development.