LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) Major Shareholder Sells $9,134,778.24 in Stock

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LENZ) 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $193,398.24. This represents a 97.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

LENZ Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LENZ remained flat at $3.05 during trading on Monday. The stock had a trading volume of 2,257,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 930,074. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.68 and a beta of 0.78. LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2.80 and a 1-year high of $32.13.

LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $3.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 million. LENZ Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 56.10% and a negative net margin of 1,134.97%. On average, analysts expect that LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LENZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on LENZ Therapeutics from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. HC Wainwright decreased their target price on LENZ Therapeutics to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings lowered LENZ Therapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of LENZ Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised LENZ Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LENZ Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Owl Capital Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of LENZ Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,298,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in LENZ Therapeutics by 377.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 547,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,010,000 after purchasing an additional 432,846 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in LENZ Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $1,138,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in LENZ Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $13,019,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in LENZ Therapeutics by 16.0% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,747,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,924,000 after buying an additional 240,597 shares during the last quarter. 54.32% of the stock is 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.