Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:EPRX) Shares Climb 6.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals shares rose 6.5% to $8.85 in midday trading, although volume was about 60% below the average session level.
• Analysts remain broadly optimistic, with the stock holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $17.80, substantially above its recent price.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting a loss of $0.23 versus the expected $0.25 loss; several institutional investors also established sizable positions in the clinical-stage biotechnology firm.

Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:EPRX - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 6.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $8.51 and last traded at $8.8540. Approximately 123,613 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 311,427 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on EPRX. Stifel Nicolaus set a $25.00 price target on Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $17.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.80.

Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $585.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.83 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 16.00, a current ratio of 16.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company's 50-day moving average is $7.26 and its 200-day moving average is $7.01.

Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:EPRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by $0.02. Equities research analysts expect that Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,137,000. Redmile Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $5,068,000. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $5,004,000. DV Trading LLC acquired a new position in Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $1,998,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $6,851,000.

About Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals

Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ: EPRX is a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Canada. The company develops locally administered therapies intended to treat inflammatory, fibrotic and other diseases while limiting patients' exposure to medication throughout the body.

Eupraxia's development programs are built around its proprietary Diffusion Driven Drug Delivery (3D) platform. The technology is designed to provide controlled, sustained release of pharmaceutical compounds at targeted sites, potentially extending treatment effects and reducing systemic side effects.

The company's lead product candidate, EP-104I, is an extended-release formulation of fluticasone propionate being developed for intra-articular administration in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.