MeiraGTx (NASDAQ:MGTX) Shares Down 6.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• MeiraGTx shares fell 6.2% to about $9.16 in Friday trading, on volume 82% below the average daily level.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with five Buy and three Hold ratings producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $24.00, well above the current price.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.71, far exceeding the $0.46 loss expected, while insiders sold 145,659 shares worth approximately $1.71 million over the past 90 days.

MeiraGTx Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:MGTX - Get Free Report) traded down 6.2% during trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $9.16 and last traded at $9.1620. 133,704 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 752,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MGTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered MeiraGTx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of MeiraGTx in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research lowered MeiraGTx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MeiraGTx in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on MeiraGTx from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.00.

MeiraGTx Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 3.76 and a quick ratio of 3.76. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $12.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $886.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 1.35.

MeiraGTx (NASDAQ:MGTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $2.17. MeiraGTx had a net margin of 19.87% and a return on equity of 283.85%. The company had revenue of $321.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.70 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MeiraGTx Holdings PLC will post 0.30 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at MeiraGTx

In related news, CEO Alexandria Forbes sold 62,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.86, for a total value of $859,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,325,695 shares in the company, valued at $18,374,132.70. This represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Stuart Naylor sold 27,659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.64, for a total transaction of $294,291.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 613,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,524,309.68. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 145,659 shares of company stock worth $1,710,812 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MeiraGTx

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its position in MeiraGTx by 13.4% during the first quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 7,000,000 shares of the company's stock worth $60,620,000 after buying an additional 824,669 shares in the last quarter. Johnson & Johnson acquired a new position in MeiraGTx in the second quarter valued at $89,720,775. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in MeiraGTx during the second quarter worth $64,269,000. Opaleye Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MeiraGTx by 67.2% during the second quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 3,550,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,960,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of MeiraGTx in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,427,000. Institutional investors own 67.48% of the company's stock.

MeiraGTx Company Profile

MeiraGTx Holdings plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for serious diseases with limited treatment options. The company uses adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors and other genetic medicine technologies to deliver therapeutic genes to targeted tissues and address the underlying causes of disease.

Its research and development activities have focused primarily on disorders of the central nervous system, including neurodegenerative diseases, as well as retinal and salivary-gland conditions.

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