AC Immune (NASDAQ:ACIU) Trading 3% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• AC Immune's stock price increased by 3% to $3.13, significantly higher than its previous close of $3.04, with trading volume up 47% from average levels.
• Analysts have upgraded AC Immune's rating to a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $10.00, while BTIG Research maintains a "buy" rating with a price objective of $8.00.
• In its latest quarterly earnings, AC Immune reported an EPS of ($0.25), missing expectations, and had revenue of $1.65 million, falling short of analyst estimates of $1.98 million.

AC Immune (NASDAQ:ACIU - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $3.22 and last traded at $3.13. 235,842 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 47% from the average session volume of 160,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AC Immune from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of AC Immune in a report on Monday, September 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.00.

AC Immune Stock Up 3.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $314.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.40 and a beta of 1.56. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $2.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.01.

AC Immune (NASDAQ:ACIU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.05). AC Immune had a negative net margin of 174.94% and a negative return on equity of 49.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AC Immune will post -0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AC Immune

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BVF Inc. IL increased its stake in AC Immune by 1.5% in the first quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 19,822,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,068,000 after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in AC Immune in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in AC Immune in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in AC Immune in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in AC Immune in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 51.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AC Immune Company Profile

AC Immune SA, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, designs, and develops medicines and diagnostic products for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases associated with protein misfolding. Its SupraAntigen and Morphomer platforms are designed to generate vaccines, antibodies, and small molecules, which selectively interact with misfolded proteins that are common in a range of neurodegenerative diseases.

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