Silence Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SLN) Shares Down 8.7% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Silence Therapeutics shares fell 8.7% to about $11.22, with trading volume 59% below its average. The stock has a market capitalization of approximately $697 million and trades below its 50-day moving average.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $53.50, despite one sell rating. Morgan Stanley recently raised its target to $32, while HC Wainwright maintained a $75 target.
• The company missed its latest quarterly EPS expectations, reporting a loss of $0.26 per share versus the $0.14 consensus estimate. Silence is developing siRNA-based medicines, including zerlasiran, an investigational therapy targeting lipoprotein(a) to address cardiovascular risk.

Silence Therapeutics PLC Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:SLN - Get Free Report) was down 8.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $11.28 and last traded at $11.2150. 234,744 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 575,343 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Silence Therapeutics from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Silence Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Silence Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Silence Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.50.

Silence Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is $12.74 and its 200 day moving average is $9.11. The stock has a market cap of $696.99 million, a P/E ratio of -9.03 and a beta of 1.45.

Silence Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SLN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.12). Silence Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 106.94% and a negative net margin of 8,943.86%. As a group, analysts expect that Silence Therapeutics PLC Sponsored ADR will post -1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Silence Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 5AM Venture Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Silence Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,228,676. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Silence Therapeutics by 11.8% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 286,698 shares of the company's stock worth $1,511,000 after buying an additional 30,358 shares during the last quarter. Ishara Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Silence Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $1,459,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Silence Therapeutics by 29.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 115,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,273,000 after buying an additional 26,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Silence Therapeutics by 628.2% in the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 172,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 148,514 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.73% of the company's stock.

Silence Therapeutics Company Profile

Silence Therapeutics plc is a biotechnology company focused on developing medicines that use small interfering RNA (siRNA) to selectively reduce the production of disease-related proteins. Its proprietary mRNAi GOLD platform is designed to identify and silence specific messenger RNA targets, with the aim of producing durable effects from infrequent dosing.

The company's pipeline includes zerlasiran, formerly known as SLN360, an investigational therapy designed to reduce production of lipoprotein(a), a genetically determined risk factor associated with cardiovascular disease.

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