SG Americas Securities LLC Increases Stock Position in uniQure N.V. $QURE

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC increased its uniQure stake by 1,107.3% in the first quarter, buying an additional 712,278 shares and bringing its total to 776,604 shares worth about $12.7 million.
• uniQure reported a smaller-than-expected loss for its latest quarter, posting EPS of -$0.85 versus analyst estimates of -$0.88, though revenue of $3.56 million missed forecasts.
• Analysts turned more bullish on QURE, with several firms raising price targets sharply; the stock now has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.67.

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Free Report) by 1,107.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 776,604 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 712,278 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 1.24% of uniQure worth $12,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in uniQure by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,150,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $147,170,000 after buying an additional 1,705,556 shares during the last quarter. Flax Pond Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of uniQure in the fourth quarter worth $3,506,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of uniQure in the fourth quarter valued at $209,000. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of uniQure by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 13,636 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 6,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. boosted its stake in shares of uniQure by 386.3% during the fourth quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 27,708 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 22,010 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

uniQure Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of QURE stock opened at $47.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.65 and a beta of 0.98. uniQure N.V. has a 1-year low of $8.73 and a 1-year high of $71.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 10.40 and a quick ratio of 10.40. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $27.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.02.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. uniQure had a negative net margin of 1,154.42% and a negative return on equity of 145.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that uniQure N.V. will post -3.64 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Walid Abi-Saab sold 45,000 shares of uniQure stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.06, for a total value of $1,127,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,905.14. This trade represents a 20.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Madhavan Balachandran sold 11,685 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total value of $526,526.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,949,025.24. This trade represents a 21.27% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 359,546 shares of company stock worth $14,549,943. Corporate insiders own 4.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on QURE. Stifel Nicolaus set a $28.00 target price on shares of uniQure in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of uniQure from $35.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays raised shares of uniQure from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of uniQure from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of uniQure from $36.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.67.

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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