MeiraGTx (NASDAQ:MGTX) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares gapped down at the open from $11.25 to $9.55 and last traded at $9.47 on volume of 555,164 shares.
• MeiraGTx posted a major quarterly beat—EPS of $0.19 vs. -$0.60 expected and revenue of $75.36M vs. $3.87M consensus—yet profitability metrics (ROE, net margin) remain negative.
• Analysts are mixed but the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $23.67, while several firms have recently raised ratings or targets.

MeiraGTx Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:MGTX - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $11.25, but opened at $9.55. MeiraGTx shares last traded at $9.4710, with a volume of 555,164 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MGTX shares. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of MeiraGTx in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MeiraGTx in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised MeiraGTx from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 5th. Zacks Research raised MeiraGTx from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on MeiraGTx from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.67.

MeiraGTx Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $772.15 million, a PE ratio of -6.66 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.10.

MeiraGTx (NASDAQ:MGTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.60) by $0.79. MeiraGTx had a negative return on equity of 1,065.47% and a negative net margin of 140.31%.The business had revenue of $75.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MeiraGTx Holdings PLC will post -1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Alexandria Forbes sold 62,000 shares of MeiraGTx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.41, for a total transaction of $459,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,449,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,742,239.95. The trade was a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stuart Naylor sold 27,661 shares of MeiraGTx stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.36, for a total value of $258,906.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 668,505 shares in the company, valued at $6,257,206.80. This represents a 3.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MeiraGTx

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perceptive Advisors LLC boosted its position in MeiraGTx by 0.4% during the second quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 12,626,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,231,000 after purchasing an additional 45,000 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in MeiraGTx by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 6,175,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,094,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448,880 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in MeiraGTx by 7.1% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 6,034,578 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,345,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in MeiraGTx by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,176,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,252,000 after purchasing an additional 604,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in MeiraGTx by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 789,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,275,000 after purchasing an additional 80,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.48% of the company's stock.

MeiraGTx Company Profile

MeiraGTx Holdings plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing gene therapies for the treatment of rare diseases. Founded in 2014 as an outgrowth of research at University College London, the company focuses on leveraging adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors to deliver functional genes to target tissues. MeiraGTx's pipeline spans ocular, central nervous system and systemic indications, addressing conditions such as inherited retinal dystrophies and neurodegenerative disorders that currently lack effective therapies.

The company's lead programs include AAV-based candidates designed to restore or replace defective genes underlying rare retinal diseases and to modulate cellular pathways in neurological disorders.

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