Silence Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SLN) Downgraded by Chardan Capital to "Hold"

Key Points

• Chardan Capital downgraded Silence Therapeutics from “strong buy” to “hold,” joining several firms that recently lowered their ratings. The stock now has a consensus “hold” rating and a $24 average price target.
• Silence Therapeutics shares opened at $19.67, near their 12-month high, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.18 billion. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.26 per share, missing analyst expectations of a $0.14 loss.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 98.73%, with several hedge funds increasing or initiating positions. Silence Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing siRNA medicines through its mRNAi GOLD platform.

Silence Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SLN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Chardan Capital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on SLN. HC Wainwright cut shares of Silence Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Silence Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Silence Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Silence Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, William Blair lowered Silence Therapeutics from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Silence Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLN opened at $19.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.37 and a beta of 1.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $12.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.92. Silence Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $4.19 and a 12 month high of $19.67.

Silence Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SLN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.12). Silence Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 8,943.86% and a negative return on equity of 106.94%. Analysts anticipate that Silence Therapeutics will post -0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Silence Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Silence Therapeutics by 29.6% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 115,918 shares of the company's stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 26,449 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Silence Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $138,000. 5AM Venture Management LLC purchased a new position in Silence Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,228,676. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Silence Therapeutics by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,063 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Fleet Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Silence Therapeutics by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 156,759 shares of the company's stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 9,159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.73% of the company's stock.

Silence Therapeutics Company Profile

Silence Therapeutics plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing medicines that use small interfering RNA (siRNA) to selectively reduce the production of disease-related proteins. Its approach is designed to intervene at the genetic messenger RNA stage, potentially providing targeted and durable effects for patients with serious diseases.

The company's proprietary mRNAi GOLD platform supports the design and delivery of siRNA medicines, including compounds intended to target tissues such as the liver.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.