uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded uniQure from “hold” to “sell,” despite the broader analyst consensus remaining “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $65.
• QURE shares opened at $44.50, well below the 52-week high of $71.50, while the company reported a quarterly EPS loss of $1.22—worse than the $0.82 analyst estimate—despite revenue slightly exceeding expectations.
• Insiders sold approximately $16.7 million of stock during the latest quarter, while institutional investors continued to hold a large 78.83% stake in the biotechnology company.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

QURE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of uniQure from $35.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of uniQure from $36.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of uniQure from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on uniQure from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of uniQure in a report on Friday, June 26th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.00.

uniQure Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of QURE stock opened at $44.50 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $44.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.34. uniQure has a 1-year low of $8.73 and a 1-year high of $71.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of -11.10 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 10.01 and a quick ratio of 10.01.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.22) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.40). The business had revenue of $5.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 posted ($0.69) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that uniQure will post -3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at uniQure

In other uniQure news, Director Jack Kaye sold 21,167 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.44, for a total value of $982,995.48. Following the sale, the director owned 25,996 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,207,254.24. This represents a 44.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 21,082 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.16, for a total transaction of $952,063.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 519,227 shares in the company, valued at $23,448,291.32. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 385,584 shares of company stock valued at $16,737,722 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On uniQure

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of QURE. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in uniQure during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,254. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of uniQure in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of uniQure in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of uniQure during the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of uniQure by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 3,650 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

About uniQure

uniQure N.V. is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of gene therapies for patients with severe medical needs. Using its proprietary adeno‐associated viral (AAV) vector platform, the company designs single‐dose treatments aimed at addressing the underlying genetic causes of disease rather than solely managing symptoms. Its most advanced program, Hemgenix® (etranacogene dezaparvovec), received regulatory approval in the United States and Europe for adult patients with hemophilia B, marking one of the first gene therapies for a bleeding disorder to reach the market.

Beyond hemophilia B, uniQure's pipeline includes preclinical and clinical-stage candidates targeting rare and debilitating conditions such as aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's disease.

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