Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT) Stock Price Up 10.5% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Editas Medicine shares rose 10.5% to about $3.32 in mid-day trading, although volume was 39% below the average session level.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: five analysts rate the stock Buy, one rates it Hold, and one rates it Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $5.50.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting an adjusted loss of $0.15 per share versus the $0.27 consensus and revenue of $11.89 million versus $2.85 million expected. However, it remains unprofitable, with a negative net margin of 157.32%, while insiders have sold shares in the past 90 days.

Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:EDIT - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 10.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $3.27 and last traded at $3.3160. Approximately 1,261,704 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 2,077,548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EDIT shares. Chardan Capital raised their price objective on Editas Medicine from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Editas Medicine in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Editas Medicine from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Editas Medicine from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Editas Medicine in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5.50.

Editas Medicine Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $2.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.71. The company has a market capitalization of $490.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.26 and a beta of 2.14.

Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.12. Editas Medicine had a negative net margin of 157.32% and a negative return on equity of 196.63%. The company had revenue of $11.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Editas Medicine, Inc. will post -0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Editas Medicine news, CEO Gilmore Neil O'neill sold 15,380 shares of Editas Medicine stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.70, for a total value of $41,526.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 248,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $670,445.10. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 21,503 shares of company stock valued at $57,910 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Editas Medicine

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EDIT. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP bought a new position in Editas Medicine in the second quarter worth approximately $4,311,000. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Editas Medicine during the second quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Editas Medicine by 216.8% during the second quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 33,138 shares of the company's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 22,679 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Editas Medicine during the second quarter worth approximately $1,002,000. Finally, Nantahala Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Editas Medicine in the 2nd quarter worth $2,762,748,000. 71.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Editas Medicine

Editas Medicine is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on translating the power of gene editing into a new class of transformative genomic medicines. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company leverages proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cas12a (Cpf1) platforms to develop therapies aimed at correcting disease-causing genetic mutations. Editas Medicine's research and development efforts span multiple therapeutic areas, including inherited retinal diseases, hemoglobinopathies, and oncology.

The company's pipeline includes EDIT-101, a lead candidate designed to treat Leber congenital amaurosis type 10 (LCA10), which has entered early-stage clinical trials, and EDIT-301, targeting sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia using an ex vivo editing approach.

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