MoonLake Immunotherapeutics $MLTX Shares Bought by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. dramatically increased its stake in MoonLake Immunotherapeutics, boosting holdings by 509% in the first quarter to 818,126 shares valued at about $15.25 million.
• The stock traded at $20.36 on Friday, with a market cap of about $1.5 billion, and remains far below its 52-week high of $62.75. The company also reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, missing EPS estimates.
• Analysts remain mixed on MoonLake: several firms raised targets and ratings, but the overall consensus is only Hold with an average price target of $24.21. Meanwhile, insiders have been selling shares in recent months, including CEO Da Silva Jorge Santos and insider Kristian Reich.

Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (NASDAQ:MLTX - Free Report) by 509.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 818,126 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 683,797 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned 1.14% of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics worth $15,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 127,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,369,000 after buying an additional 31,115 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $147,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $166,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in MoonLake Immunotherapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in MoonLake Immunotherapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. 93.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ MLTX traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,937,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,403,214. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.26 and a beta of 1.04. The company's 50-day moving average is $18.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 8.60 and a quick ratio of 8.60. MoonLake Immunotherapeutics has a 1-year low of $5.95 and a 1-year high of $62.75.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (NASDAQ:MLTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.98) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.91) by ($0.07). On average, equities analysts predict that MoonLake Immunotherapeutics will post -3.71 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised MoonLake Immunotherapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $12.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wolfe Research raised shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $12.00 to $24.00 in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Da Silva Jorge Santos sold 47,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.03, for a total value of $956,933.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,877,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $57,628,673.54. The trade was a 1.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kristian Reich sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.43, for a total transaction of $971,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,824,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,881,025.93. This represents a 1.74% 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. Insiders sold a total of 199,648 shares of company stock worth $3,818,578 in the last three months. 12.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics Profile

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing therapies. It develops Sonelokimab, a novel investigational Nanobody for the treatment of inflammation diseases; and hidradenitis suppurativa, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, and psoriasis. MoonLake Immunotherapeutics was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland.

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