MeiraGTx (NASDAQ:MGTX) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• MeiraGTx Holdings PLC experienced a significant increase in trading volume, with approximately 2 million shares traded, marking a 280% rise compared to the previous session.
• Analysts have varied opinions on the stock, with Chardan Capital lowering their price target from $38 to $35 while maintaining a "buy" rating, and Wall Street Zen upgrading it from "sell" to "hold."
• Recent financial results revealed a quarterly earnings miss, with a reported loss of ($0.51) EPS compared to an expectation of ($0.38), highlighting challenging financial performance for the company.

Shares of MeiraGTx Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:MGTX - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 2,055,678 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 280% from the previous session's volume of 541,517 shares.The stock last traded at $8.22 and had previously closed at $8.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MGTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Chardan Capital lowered their price objective on shares of MeiraGTx from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MeiraGTx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th.

MeiraGTx Price Performance

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $7.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $614.75 million, a P/E ratio of -3.30 and a beta of 1.25.

MeiraGTx (NASDAQ:MGTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.13). MeiraGTx had a negative net margin of 484.90% and a negative return on equity of 241.05%. The company had revenue of $1.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 million. As a group, research analysts expect that MeiraGTx Holdings PLC will post -1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Alexandria Forbes sold 47,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.97, for a total transaction of $378,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,361,483 shares in the company, valued at $10,851,019.51. This represents a 3.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Richard Giroux sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.52, for a total value of $204,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 853,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,271,768.88. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanofi bought a new position in shares of MeiraGTx in the fourth quarter worth about $74,284,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of MeiraGTx by 11.9% in the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 5,634,578 shares of the company's stock worth $38,202,000 after buying an additional 600,000 shares during the period. 683 Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MeiraGTx by 6.6% in the first quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC now owns 2,575,000 shares of the company's stock worth $17,458,000 after buying an additional 160,000 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of MeiraGTx in the fourth quarter worth about $9,349,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of MeiraGTx by 17.9% in the first quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 789,702 shares of the company's stock worth $5,366,000 after buying an additional 120,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.48% of the company's stock.

MeiraGTx Company Profile

MeiraGTx Holdings plc, a clinical stage gene therapy company, focusing on developing treatments for patients with serious diseases. The company develops various therapies for ocular diseases, including inherited retinal diseases and large degenerative ocular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and xerostomia.