uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays downgraded uniQure from “overweight” to “equal weight” and set a $28 price target, implying approximately 19% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive despite the downgrade: uniQure has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $53.73, although recommendations range from “Strong Buy” to “Sell.”
• uniQure reported a quarterly loss of $1.22 per share, missing estimates by $0.40, while revenue of $5.84 million exceeded expectations; hedge funds and other institutions own 78.83% of the stock.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Barclays from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $28.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential upside of 19.35% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on QURE. Wolfe Research upgraded uniQure from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho upped their price objective on uniQure from $35.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. William Blair upgraded shares of uniQure to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of uniQure from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of uniQure in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.73.

uniQure Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QURE opened at $23.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 10.01 and a current ratio of 10.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.45. uniQure has a fifty-two week low of $8.73 and a fifty-two week high of $71.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.85 and a beta of 1.06.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.40). The company had revenue of $5.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.45 million. uniQure had a negative net margin of 1,350.73% and a negative return on equity of 111.96%. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.69) EPS. Analysts expect that uniQure will post -3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On uniQure

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in uniQure by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,150,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $147,170,000 after buying an additional 1,705,556 shares during the period. Orbimed Advisors LLC lifted its stake in uniQure by 189.7% in the first quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,136,149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $34,926,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,749 shares during the last quarter. Artia Global Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of uniQure by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. Artia Global Partners LP now owns 1,023,539 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,493,000 after acquiring an additional 364,700 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of uniQure by 249.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 513,530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $23,653,000 after purchasing an additional 366,781 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in uniQure in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,390,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

uniQure Company Profile

uniQure N.V. is a biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies intended to treat serious and potentially life-threatening diseases. The company uses adeno-associated virus (AAV) delivery technology to introduce genetic material into patients' cells, with the goal of addressing the underlying causes of disease through a single administration.

uniQure's lead commercial product, Hemgenix (etranacogene dezaparvovec), is a gene therapy for adults with hemophilia B who use factor IX replacement therapy.

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