Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Cuts Stake in Abeona Therapeutics Inc. $ABEO

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. has reduced its stake in Abeona Therapeutics by 31.0%, selling 1,210,732 shares, and now holds approximately 5.52% of the company, valued at about $12.8 million.
• Undertakings from insiders included Brendan M. O'malley and Joseph Walter Vazzano, who both sold shares at an average price of $5.86, indicating a reduction in their ownership by 4.61% and 5.04% respectively.
• Analysts maintain a "buy" rating for Abeona Therapeutics, with prices targeted between $19.00 and $20.00, despite recent challenges including lower-than-expected revenue.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. trimmed its stake in Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ABEO - Free Report) by 31.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,691,628 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,210,732 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 5.52% of Abeona Therapeutics worth $12,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in Abeona Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Abeona Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $67,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Abeona Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Abeona Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $190,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Abeona Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $341,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Abeona Therapeutics Stock Performance

Abeona Therapeutics stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $6.72. 422,893 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 988,474. The stock has a market capitalization of $344.35 million, a PE ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 6.73 and a quick ratio of 6.65. Abeona Therapeutics Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.93 and a 12-month high of $7.54. The business's 50-day moving average is $6.56 and its 200-day moving average is $5.88.

Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $2.10. The firm had revenue of $0.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.71 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Abeona Therapeutics Inc. will post -1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Abeona Therapeutics from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Abeona Therapeutics from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Abeona Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Abeona Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners restated a "buy" rating on shares of Abeona Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Abeona Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abeona Therapeutics news, SVP Brendan M. O'malley sold 17,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.86, for a total value of $102,128.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 360,817 shares in the company, valued at $2,114,387.62. This represents a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Faith L. Charles sold 10,738 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.86, for a total value of $62,924.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 139,094 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $815,090.84. The trade was a 7.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 150,685 shares of company stock valued at $884,186. 6.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Abeona Therapeutics

Abeona Therapeutics Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and delivering gene therapy products for severe and life-threatening rare diseases. The company's lead programs are EB-101 (gene-corrected skin grafts) for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB); ABO-102, which are AAV based gene therapies for Sanfilippo syndrome type A; and ABO-101, an adeno-associated virus (AAV) based gene therapies for Sanfilippo syndrome type B.