uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Stock Price Up 14% – Here’s Why

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE)’s share price shot up 14% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $25.50 and last traded at $24.9560. 966,995 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 2,269,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on QURE. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of uniQure in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of uniQure from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of uniQure in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright dropped their target price on uniQure from $110.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on uniQure from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Ten 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.82.

uniQure Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.40 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 7.12 and a current ratio of 7.12.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.53). uniQure had a negative net margin of 1,492.90% and a negative return on equity of 373.73%. The company had revenue of $3.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that uniQure N.V. will post -3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at uniQure

In related news, Director Robert Gut sold 31,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.26, for a total value of $856,890.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,352.70. The trade was a 43.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack Kaye sold 38,810 shares of uniQure stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.34, for a total value of $1,177,495.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $620,119.26. This trade represents a 65.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 314,560 shares of company stock valued at $12,362,568. 4.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in uniQure in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of uniQure by 509.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 609 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in uniQure in the third quarter worth $50,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in uniQure by 76.7% in the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in uniQure by 358.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,085 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 5,538 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

About uniQure

uniQure N.V. develops treatments for patients suffering from rare and other devastating diseases. It offers HEMGENIX that has completed Phase III HOPE-B pivotal trial for the treatment of hemophilia B. The company also develops AMT-130, a gene therapy that is in Phase I/II clinical study for the treatment of Huntington's disease.