Opaleye Management Inc. Buys 1,934,933 Shares of Editas Medicine, Inc. $EDIT

Key Points

• Opaleye Management doubled its Editas Medicine stake in the second quarter, purchasing 1,934,933 shares and ending with 3,861,930 shares worth approximately $12.5 million, or 2.51% of the company.
• Institutional ownership stands at 71.9%, while several other investment firms recently initiated positions in Editas Medicine.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.00; the company also exceeded quarterly estimates with revenue of $11.89 million and an EPS loss of $0.15.

Opaleye Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:EDIT - Free Report) by 100.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,861,930 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,934,933 shares during the quarter. Editas Medicine makes up approximately 1.1% of Opaleye Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Opaleye Management Inc. owned 2.51% of Editas Medicine worth $12,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Editas Medicine during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Editas Medicine in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Editas Medicine during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Editas Medicine during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in shares of Editas Medicine in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 71.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Editas Medicine in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $6.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Editas Medicine in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Editas Medicine from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Editas Medicine from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Editas Medicine currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $6.00.

Editas Medicine Stock Performance

Editas Medicine stock opened at $2.65 on Friday. Editas Medicine, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1.66 and a fifty-two week high of $4.54. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $3.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.83. The stock has a market cap of $406.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.53 and a beta of 2.09.

Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.12. Editas Medicine had a negative return on equity of 196.63% and a negative net margin of 157.32%.The firm had revenue of $11.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 million. On average, analysts predict that Editas Medicine, Inc. will post -0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Editas Medicine Profile

Editas Medicine is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on translating the power of gene editing into a new class of transformative genomic medicines. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company leverages proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cas12a (Cpf1) platforms to develop therapies aimed at correcting disease-causing genetic mutations. Editas Medicine's research and development efforts span multiple therapeutic areas, including inherited retinal diseases, hemoglobinopathies, and oncology.

The company's pipeline includes EDIT-101, a lead candidate designed to treat Leber congenital amaurosis type 10 (LCA10), which has entered early-stage clinical trials, and EDIT-301, targeting sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia using an ex vivo editing approach.

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