Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires Shares of 303,632 uniQure N.V. $QURE

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. made a new investment of approximately $3.22 million in uniQure N.V. during the first quarter, acquiring 303,632 shares which represents about 0.55% ownership of the company.
• uniQure reported a quarterly earnings EPS of ($0.69), beating the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.20, with a revenue of $5.26 million in the same period.
• Currently, institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of uniQure's stock, indicating significant investor interest in the biotechnology company.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 303,632 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,218,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.55% of uniQure at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of QURE. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in uniQure in the first quarter worth about $106,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in uniQure by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 12,294 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of uniQure by 127.3% in the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 36,999 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 20,720 shares in the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG bought a new position in shares of uniQure in the fourth quarter worth approximately $397,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of uniQure in the fourth quarter worth approximately $397,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QURE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho upgraded shares of uniQure from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of uniQure in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $47.00 target price on shares of uniQure in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Chardan Capital lowered their price objective on shares of uniQure from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of uniQure from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, uniQure currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.45.

Insider Transactions at uniQure

In other news, Director Robert Gut sold 3,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.45, for a total value of $48,205.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 56,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at $821,901.55. This represents a 5.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rachelle Suzanne Jacques sold 2,112 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.45, for a total transaction of $30,518.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 28,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $409,599.70. This trade represents a 6.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,144 shares of company stock valued at $322,426. Company insiders own 4.79% of the company's stock.

uniQure Stock Performance

QURE stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $16.23. 844,391 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,355,410. uniQure N.V. has a 52-week low of $4.45 and a 52-week high of $19.18. The stock has a market cap of $890.44 million, a P/E ratio of -4.14 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a current ratio of 9.98, a quick ratio of 9.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock's 50-day moving average is $14.60 and its 200 day moving average is $13.64.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.89) by $0.20. uniQure had a negative net margin of 1,387.98% and a negative return on equity of 1,010.74%. The business had revenue of $5.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.00 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that uniQure N.V. will post -3.75 EPS for the current year.

About uniQure

uniQure N.V. develops treatments for patients suffering from rare and other devastating diseases. It offers HEMGENIX that has completed Phase III HOPE-B pivotal trial for the treatment of hemophilia B. The company also develops AMT-130, a gene therapy that is in Phase I/II clinical study for the treatment of Huntington's disease.