Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT) Downgraded to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Editas Medicine has been downgraded from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts have differing views, with Cantor Fitzgerald upgrading their rating to "strong-buy" and setting a price target of $6.00, while HC Wainwright remains at a "buy" rating with a target of $5.00.
• Editas reported a loss of $0.63 per share in its latest earnings, missing consensus estimates but exceeding revenue expectations with $3.58 million in revenue.

Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

EDIT has been the topic of several other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Editas Medicine from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Editas Medicine from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Editas Medicine from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $5.10.

Editas Medicine Stock Performance

Editas Medicine stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2.67. 926,332 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,242,525. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.09 million, a PE ratio of -0.94 and a beta of 2.19. Editas Medicine has a fifty-two week low of $0.91 and a fifty-two week high of $4.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.89.

Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.63) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.41) by ($0.22). Editas Medicine had a negative return on equity of 200.25% and a negative net margin of 608.88%.The company had revenue of $3.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Editas Medicine will post -2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Editas Medicine

In related news, CEO Gilmore Neil O'neill sold 15,192 shares of Editas Medicine stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.72, for a total transaction of $26,130.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 280,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,085.04. This trade represents a 5.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 22,164 shares of company stock valued at $42,649 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Editas Medicine

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Editas Medicine by 122.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,600,000 shares of the company's stock worth $3,016,000 after buying an additional 1,430,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Editas Medicine by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,964,298 shares of the company's stock worth $4,323,000 after buying an additional 20,521 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Editas Medicine by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,657,000 shares of the company's stock worth $2,104,000 after buying an additional 528,000 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Editas Medicine by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,649,072 shares of the company's stock worth $2,094,000 after buying an additional 290,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Editas Medicine during the fourth quarter worth $1,843,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.90% of the company's stock.

Editas Medicine Company Profile

Editas Medicine, Inc, a clinical stage genome editing company, focuses on developing transformative genomic medicines to treat a range of serious diseases. It develops a proprietary gene editing platform based on CRISPR technology. The company develops EDIT-101, which is in Phase 1/2 BRILLIANCE trial for Leber Congenital Amaurosis; and reni-cel, a clinical development gene-edited medicine to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia.