MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (NASDAQ:MLTX) Lowered to "Neutral" Rating by HC Wainwright

Key Points

• MoonLake Immunotherapeutics has received a "neutral" rating from HC Wainwright, which was one of multiple recent evaluations from various analysts with conflicting price targets.
• The stock price target estimates have significantly declined, with Royal Bank of Canada lowering theirs from $67.00 to $10.00, while Needham & Company reduced theirs from $66.00 to $20.00.
• Insider activity showed major shareholder Bihua Chen selling over 6.4 million shares, representing a 76.45% decrease in their position, with remaining shares valued at approximately $14.4 million.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (NASDAQ:MLTX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at HC Wainwright from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

MLTX has been the subject of several other research reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on MoonLake Immunotherapeutics from $66.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup cut MoonLake Immunotherapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim decreased their price target on MoonLake Immunotherapeutics from $80.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut MoonLake Immunotherapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on MoonLake Immunotherapeutics from $80.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.00.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics Stock Performance

MLTX stock opened at $7.06 on Thursday. MoonLake Immunotherapeutics has a 1 year low of $5.95 and a 1 year high of $62.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $453.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's fifty day moving average is $51.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 16.65 and a current ratio of 16.65.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (NASDAQ:MLTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.87) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.73) by ($0.14). During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.39) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that MoonLake Immunotherapeutics will post -1.79 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Bihua Chen sold 6,494,151 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.21, for a total transaction of $46,822,828.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,000,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,420,000. This trade represents a 76.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 12.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MoonLake Immunotherapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 903 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics by 0.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,553 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics by 3.7% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 17,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $829,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in MoonLake Immunotherapeutics by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,200 shares of the company's stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MPM Bioimpact LLC lifted its stake in MoonLake Immunotherapeutics by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC now owns 316,049 shares of the company's stock worth $12,348,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.85% of the company's stock.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics Company Profile

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing therapies. It develops Sonelokimab, a novel investigational Nanobody for the treatment of inflammation diseases; and hidradenitis suppurativa, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, and psoriasis. MoonLake Immunotherapeutics was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland.