Irenic Capital Management LP Takes $1.64 Million Position in uniQure N.V. $QURE

Key Points

• Irenic Capital Management acquired 100,000 uniQure shares worth approximately $1.64 million, while institutional investors collectively own 78.83% of the company.
• uniQure insiders sold 433,229 shares worth about $17.9 million over the past 90 days, including sales by the CEO and a director under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $64.17; however, uniQure continues to report losses, including quarterly revenue below estimates and a projected full-year loss of $3.39 per share.

Irenic Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 100,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,635,000. Irenic Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.16% of uniQure as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in uniQure by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,150 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in uniQure by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,141 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in uniQure by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 3,650 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of uniQure during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of uniQure by 42.7% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,027 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other uniQure news, Director Jack Kaye sold 21,167 shares of uniQure stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.44, for a total value of $982,995.48. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,996 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,254.24. The trade was a 44.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 21,082 shares of uniQure stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.16, for a total transaction of $952,063.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 519,227 shares in the company, valued at $23,448,291.32. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 433,229 shares of company stock worth $17,944,799. 4.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

uniQure Stock Down 4.1%

QURE opened at $36.66 on Wednesday. uniQure N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $8.73 and a fifty-two week high of $71.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 10.40 and a current ratio of 10.40. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.53 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.44 and a 200-day moving average of $25.89.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.88) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 million. uniQure had a negative net margin of 1,154.42% and a negative return on equity of 145.81%. On average, equities analysts expect that uniQure N.V. will post -3.39 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright upped their target price on uniQure from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays upgraded uniQure from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $25.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on uniQure from $14.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on uniQure from $36.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on uniQure from $35.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.17.

uniQure Company 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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