MeiraGTx Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:MGTX) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• MeiraGTx has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from eight analysts, with five buy ratings and three holds; the average 12-month price target is $24.00.
• Recent analyst views are mixed: RBC raised its target to $27 and maintained an outperform rating, while Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a neutral rating and a $16 target; Zacks downgraded the stock to hold.
• Institutional ownership stands at 67.48%, supported by new stakes from Johnson & Johnson and BlackRock, while insiders sold 145,659 shares worth approximately $1.71 million over the past 90 days.

Shares of MeiraGTx Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:MGTX - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eight research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.00.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MGTX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on MeiraGTx in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded MeiraGTx from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on MeiraGTx from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings raised MeiraGTx from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut MeiraGTx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Richard Giroux sold 56,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.95, for a total value of $557,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 852,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,482,673.50. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Alexandria Forbes sold 62,000 shares of MeiraGTx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.86, for a total value of $859,320.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,325,695 shares in the company, valued at $18,374,132.70. The trade was a 4.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 145,659 shares of company stock worth $1,710,812. Insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MGTX. Johnson & Johnson bought a new stake in shares of MeiraGTx during the second quarter valued at about $89,720,775. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in MeiraGTx in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,269,000. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its position in MeiraGTx by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 7,000,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,620,000 after buying an additional 824,669 shares in the last quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. increased its stake in MeiraGTx by 67.2% during the 2nd quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 3,550,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,960,000 after buying an additional 1,426,741 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in MeiraGTx during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,427,000. 67.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MeiraGTx Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MGTX opened at $9.18 on Tuesday. MeiraGTx has a twelve month low of $6.62 and a twelve month high of $15.35. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $881.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.24.

MeiraGTx (NASDAQ:MGTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $2.17. MeiraGTx had a net margin of 19.87% and a return on equity of 283.85%. The firm had revenue of $321.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.70 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MeiraGTx will post 0.30 earnings per share for the current year.

MeiraGTx Company Profile

MeiraGTx Holdings plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for serious diseases with limited treatment options. The company uses adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors and other genetic medicine technologies to deliver therapeutic genes to targeted tissues and address the underlying causes of disease.

Its research and development activities have focused primarily on disorders of the central nervous system, including neurodegenerative diseases, as well as retinal and salivary-gland conditions.

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