Insider Selling: Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) Insider Sells 12,606 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Abeona Therapeutics insider Madhav Vasanthavada sold 12,606 shares on July 9 at an average price of $6.96, totaling about $87,738. The sale was made to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards.
• Recent insider activity: Vasanthavada also sold shares in multiple earlier transactions in June and May, indicating a pattern of insider selling over the past few months.
• Company snapshot: Abeona Therapeutics shares rose 4.7% to $7.12, after the company recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue expectations. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $19.00.

Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ABEO - Get Free Report) insider Madhav Vasanthavada sold 12,606 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total value of $87,737.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 290,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,022,736.08. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Madhav Vasanthavada also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, June 9th, Madhav Vasanthavada sold 5,450 shares of Abeona Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.30, for a total transaction of $28,885.00.
• On Monday, June 8th, Madhav Vasanthavada sold 4,170 shares of Abeona Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.43, for a total transaction of $22,643.10.
• On Monday, May 11th, Madhav Vasanthavada sold 5,548 shares of Abeona Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.96, for a total transaction of $33,066.08.

Abeona Therapeutics Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ ABEO traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $7.12. 2,608,182 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,352,993. The company has a market cap of $405.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.31. Abeona Therapeutics Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.00 and a 52 week high of $7.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 5.70 and a current ratio of 5.89.

Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.57 million. Research analysts anticipate that Abeona Therapeutics Inc. will post -0.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABEO. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Abeona Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Abeona Therapeutics by 49.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Abeona Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abeona Therapeutics by 191.4% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 10,307 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 6,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abeona Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABEO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 price target on shares of Abeona Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Abeona Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Abeona Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Abeona Therapeutics from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.00.

Abeona Therapeutics Company Profile

Abeona Therapeutics is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of gene and cell therapies for severe, life‐threatening rare diseases and oncology indications. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Abeona leverages proprietary viral and non‐viral delivery platforms to correct or compensate for underlying genetic deficiencies. The company's research efforts target pediatric neurodegenerative disorders as well as debilitating dermatologic conditions with high unmet medical need.

The company's lead clinical programs include separate AAV‐based gene therapies for CLN1 and CLN3 forms of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, alongside an ex vivo autologous cell therapy for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.

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