Silence Therapeutics PLC Sponsored ADR (SLN) - What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Broker consensus is “Hold”: Of six covering analysts, three rate Silence Therapeutics a buy, two hold, and one sell, with an average 12-month price target of $42.33.
• Merck has agreed to acquire the company for $20 per ADS, a substantial premium to Silence’s prior trading price, strengthening Merck’s rare-disease pipeline through the biotech’s siRNA technology. Trading was temporarily halted, while unusually heavy call-option activity preceded the announcement.
• Deal uncertainty remains: An investor-rights law firm is investigating whether shareholders are receiving a fair price, although the proposed cash consideration is anchoring the stock near $20. Silence also recently missed quarterly EPS estimates and continues to report substantial losses.

Shares of Silence Therapeutics PLC Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:SLN - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.33.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SLN shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Silence Therapeutics from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Silence Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Silence Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Silence Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, William Blair lowered shares of Silence Therapeutics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday.

Silence Therapeutics News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Silence Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck will pay $20 per American depositary share (ADS), representing a 130% premium to Silence Therapeutics’ October 16 closing price and an 82% premium to its 30-day volume-weighted average price. The deal provides shareholders with immediate cash value and was the primary catalyst for the stock’s surge. Silence Therapeutics jumps 59% on Merck takeover
• Positive Sentiment: Merck said the acquisition will strengthen its rare-disease pipeline through Silence’s RNA interference, or siRNA, technology and lead development assets. The strategic interest from a major pharmaceutical company validates Silence’s platform and development potential. Merck to Acquire Silence Therapeutics
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity preceded or accompanied the announcement, with 12,157 calls purchased versus an average daily volume of 1,086, indicating significant speculative interest in a potential takeover.
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading in SLN was temporarily halted for pending news before the acquisition announcement, reflecting the material nature of the transaction. Germany’s Merck to Buy Silence Therapeutics
• Negative Sentiment: An investor-rights law firm is investigating whether Silence’s board obtained a fair price for shareholders. Such reviews can introduce deal uncertainty, although the proposed $20 cash consideration currently anchors the stock near the offer value. Halper Sadeh investigation

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Silence Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Silence Therapeutics by 628.2% in the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 172,157 shares of the company's stock worth $907,000 after purchasing an additional 148,514 shares in the last quarter. 5AM Venture Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Silence Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,228,676. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Silence Therapeutics by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 115,918 shares of the company's stock worth $1,273,000 after buying an additional 26,449 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Silence Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Silence Therapeutics by 11.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 286,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,511,000 after buying an additional 30,358 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.73% of the company's stock.

Silence Therapeutics Stock Performance

Silence Therapeutics stock opened at $19.58 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $12.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.30 and a beta of 1.45. Silence Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $4.19 and a fifty-two week high of $19.61.

Silence Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SLN - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 106.94% and a negative net margin of 8,943.86%. On average, analysts predict that Silence Therapeutics will post -0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Silence Therapeutics Company Profile

Silence Therapeutics plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing medicines that use RNA interference (RNAi) to selectively reduce the production of disease-causing proteins. The company's approach is designed to act at the genetic level by targeting specific messenger RNA molecules before they are translated into proteins.

Silence's research is supported by its proprietary mRNAi GOLD platform, which is intended to enable the development and delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) medicines.

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