Equities Analysts Set Expectations for LENZ FY2026 Earnings

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LENZ) – Investment analysts at HC Wainwright lifted their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of LENZ Therapeutics in a report issued on Friday, October 30th. HC Wainwright analyst M. Caufield now expects that the company will post earnings per share of ($4.18) for the year, up from their prior forecast of ($4.35). HC Wainwright has a “Buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for LENZ Therapeutics’ current full-year earnings is ($4.09) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for LENZ Therapeutics’ Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.85) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($1.30) EPS, FY2028 earnings at ($0.90) EPS, FY2029 earnings at ($0.11) EPS and FY2030 earnings at $1.09 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered LENZ Therapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on LENZ Therapeutics from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Zacks Research upgraded LENZ Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of LENZ Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.50.

LENZ Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LENZ opened at $3.05 on Tuesday. LENZ Therapeutics has a one year low of $2.80 and a one year high of $32.13. The stock has a market cap of $95.83 million, a PE ratio of -0.68 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.04.

LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $3.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 million. LENZ Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 1,134.97% and a negative return on equity of 56.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LENZ Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LENZ. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in LENZ Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $13,019,000. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP purchased a new position in LENZ Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $4,298,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in LENZ Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $2,682,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in LENZ Therapeutics by 377.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 547,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,010,000 after buying an additional 432,846 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of LENZ Therapeutics by 16.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,747,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,924,000 after acquiring an additional 240,597 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Ra Capital Management, L.P. sold 2,718,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.36, for a total value of $9,134,778.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $193,398.24. This represents a 97.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting LENZ Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting LENZ Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised its earnings forecasts across 2026–2030. The analyst improved projected EPS for Q4 2026 to $(0.85), FY2026 to $(4.18), FY2027 to $(1.30), FY2028 to $(0.90), FY2029 to $(0.11), and FY2030 to $1.09. The revisions suggest a faster path toward profitability, including projected positive earnings in 2030. HC Wainwright maintained a Buy rating and a $16 price target.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain divided. Although HC Wainwright remains bullish, it recently reduced its price target to $16, while Piper Sandler has a $5 target and a Neutral rating. The broader analyst consensus is Hold, with an average target of $17.50. LENZ Therapeutics Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from HC Wainwright
• Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder RA Capital Management sold 2.72 million shares for approximately $9.1 million. The transaction reduced RA Capital’s direct ownership by 97.93%, leaving it with only 57,559 shares. Such a large disposal can pressure the stock and may raise concerns about institutional confidence or near-term supply of shares. LENZ Therapeutics Major Shareholder Stock Sale
• Negative Sentiment: LENZ’s latest quarterly results missed expectations. The company reported a loss of $0.99 per share versus the expected loss of $0.89, while revenue of $3.38 million fell short of the $4.20 million consensus. LENZ remains unprofitable, with analysts forecasting a full-year loss of approximately $4.09 per share.

LENZ Therapeutics Company Profile

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing ophthalmic medicines for the treatment of presbyopia, the age-related loss of near vision. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and its programs are designed to provide an alternative to reading glasses and other corrective lenses.

LENZ’s primary product candidate is aceclidine ophthalmic solution, developed under the names LNZ100 and VIZZ. The pupil-selective miotic is intended to improve near vision while preserving distance vision, without relying on the lens-shaping mechanism targeted by some other presbyopia treatments.