Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stake in uniQure N.V. $QURE

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its uniQure stake by 75.8% in Q1, selling 460,174 shares and leaving it with 146,749 shares worth about $2.4 million.
• Insider selling was also notable: CEO Matthew C. Kapusta and insider Walid Abi-Saab sold shares, and insiders sold 360,980 shares in the last quarter overall.
• Despite the stock’s recent move, analysts remain bullish on uniQure, with 12 Buy ratings and an average price target of $64.17 after several firms raised their targets.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Free Report) by 75.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 146,749 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 460,174 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.23% of uniQure worth $2,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of uniQure by 123.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,231,043 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $77,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787,033 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of uniQure by 155.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,934,626 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785,275 shares during the period. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of uniQure by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,150,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $147,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705,556 shares during the period. MPM Bioimpact LLC purchased a new position in uniQure during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,062,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in uniQure during the third quarter valued at approximately $75,320,000. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 28,716 shares of uniQure stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $1,436,374.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 519,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,971,734.54. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Walid Abi-Saab sold 1,434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total transaction of $67,197.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 168,235 shares in the company, valued at $7,883,492.10. This represents a 0.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 360,980 shares of company stock worth $14,617,140. Insiders own 4.65% of the company's stock.

uniQure Trading Down 2.8%

NASDAQ QURE opened at $46.06 on Wednesday. uniQure N.V. has a 1-year low of $8.73 and a 1-year high of $71.50. The company has a current ratio of 10.40, a quick ratio of 10.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.02 and a 200-day moving average of $23.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of -13.24 and a beta of 0.98.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 million. uniQure had a negative return on equity of 145.81% and a negative net margin of 1,154.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that uniQure N.V. will post -3.65 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QURE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of uniQure in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Chardan Capital boosted their price target on shares of uniQure from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of uniQure from $35.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on uniQure from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price target on uniQure from $36.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.17.

uniQure Profile

uniQure N.V. is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of gene therapies for patients with severe medical needs. Using its proprietary adeno‐associated viral (AAV) vector platform, the company designs single‐dose treatments aimed at addressing the underlying genetic causes of disease rather than solely managing symptoms. Its most advanced program, Hemgenix® (etranacogene dezaparvovec), received regulatory approval in the United States and Europe for adult patients with hemophilia B, marking one of the first gene therapies for a bleeding disorder to reach the market.

Beyond hemophilia B, uniQure's pipeline includes preclinical and clinical-stage candidates targeting rare and debilitating conditions such as aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's disease.

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