Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT) Stock Breaks Below 50-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Editas Medicine shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading as low as $2.55 and last changing hands at $2.57, below the $2.85 50-day and $2.88 200-day averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: five analysts rate the stock a Buy and one rates it Sell, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $5.80.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting a loss of $0.15 per share versus the projected $0.27 loss and revenue of $11.89 million versus the $2.85 million estimate, though it continues to post substantial negative margins and return on equity.

Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:EDIT - Get Free Report) passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.85 and traded as low as $2.55. Editas Medicine shares last traded at $2.57, with a volume of 1,623,283 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EDIT. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Editas Medicine from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Editas Medicine in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim raised Editas Medicine from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $5.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Editas Medicine from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Editas Medicine has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5.80.

Editas Medicine Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $2.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $394.70 million, a PE ratio of -3.43 and a beta of 2.09.

Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $11.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 million. Editas Medicine had a negative return on equity of 196.63% and a negative net margin of 157.32%. Analysts forecast that Editas Medicine, Inc. will post -0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Editas Medicine

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Editas Medicine during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Editas Medicine in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Abel Hall LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Editas Medicine in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Editas Medicine during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Strategic Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Editas Medicine during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.90% of the company's stock.

About Editas Medicine

Editas Medicine, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing gene-editing medicines for serious diseases. The company uses CRISPR-based technologies, including CRISPR/Cas12a and CRISPR/Cas9, to make targeted changes to DNA with the goal of treating the underlying causes of disease rather than only managing symptoms.

Editas' lead program is reni-cel, formerly known as EDIT-301, an investigational ex vivo gene-editing therapy being studied for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.

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