LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) Shares Up 5% – What’s Next?

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LENZ)’s share price traded up 5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $17.64 and last traded at $17.5290. 792,105 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 48% from the average session volume of 533,483 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LENZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of LENZ Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LENZ Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of LENZ Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of LENZ Therapeutics to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of LENZ Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.40.

LENZ Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $542.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.27 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.64.

LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.67) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $12.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Daniel R. Chevallard bought 2,198 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.76 per share, for a total transaction of $50,026.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,585.36. This represents a 68.95% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shawn Olsson sold 10,000 shares of LENZ Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.10, for a total value of $261,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,531.30. This trade represents a 67.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LENZ Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LENZ. Versant Venture Management LLC bought a new position in shares of LENZ Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $123,758,000. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP lifted its stake in LENZ Therapeutics by 96.2% during the first quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 1,511,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,872,000 after purchasing an additional 741,477 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in LENZ Therapeutics by 3.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,330,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,965,000 after buying an additional 39,292 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in LENZ Therapeutics by 36.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,201,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,971,000 after buying an additional 320,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in LENZ Therapeutics by 108.8% in the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,122,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,907,000 after buying an additional 585,000 shares during the last quarter. 54.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About LENZ Therapeutics

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to improve vision in the United States. Its product candidates include LNZ100 and LNZ101 which are in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of presbyopia. The company is headquartered in Del Mar, California.