Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) Stock Price

LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 157.14% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of LENZ Therapeutics from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on shares of LENZ Therapeutics to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of LENZ Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of LENZ Therapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.75.

LENZ Therapeutics Trading Up 16.3%

Shares of LENZ stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $3.50. The stock had a trading volume of 785,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,111,717. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3.93 and its 200-day moving average is $7.73. The firm has a market cap of $109.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.78 and a beta of 0.78. LENZ Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $2.80 and a 1-year high of $32.13.

LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.10). LENZ Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 56.10% and a negative net margin of 1,134.97%. The firm had revenue of $3.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 million. On average, analysts forecast that LENZ Therapeutics will post -4.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at LENZ Therapeutics

In other news, major shareholder Ra Capital Management, L.P. sold 2,718,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 57,559 shares in the company, valued at $193,398.24. This represents a 97.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LENZ. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in LENZ Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,019,000. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of LENZ Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,298,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in shares of LENZ Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,682,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of LENZ Therapeutics by 377.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 547,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,010,000 after purchasing an additional 432,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BML Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LENZ Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,087,000. 54.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.