Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Editas Medicine reported a quarterly earnings loss of $(0.63) EPS, falling short of analysts' expectations by $(0.22).
• The company's revenue for the quarter was $3.58 million, significantly above the anticipated $1.81 million.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Editas Medicine, with a raised average target price of $4.90, reflecting an increase in optimism among some equity research firms.

Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.63) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.41) by ($0.22), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $3.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 million. Editas Medicine had a negative return on equity of 200.25% and a negative net margin of 608.88%.

Editas Medicine Price Performance

NASDAQ:EDIT traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $2.73. The stock had a trading volume of 1,839,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,495,376. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.48 million, a P/E ratio of -0.96 and a beta of 2.19. Editas Medicine has a 1-year low of $0.91 and a 1-year high of $4.19. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $2.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gilmore Neil O'neill sold 15,192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.72, for a total value of $26,130.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 280,282 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,164 shares of company stock worth $42,649. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Editas Medicine

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Editas Medicine by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,964,298 shares of the company's stock worth $4,323,000 after acquiring an additional 20,521 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Editas Medicine by 122.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,600,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430,000 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Editas Medicine by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,065,722 shares of the company's stock worth $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 140,916 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Editas Medicine by 288.5% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 752,162 shares of the company's stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 558,567 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Editas Medicine by 500.0% during the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 120,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $5.00 price target (up previously from $3.00) on shares of Editas Medicine in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Editas Medicine from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Editas Medicine from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Editas Medicine from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $5.10.

About Editas Medicine

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.