uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• uniQure shares fell after Barclays downgraded the stock from overweight to equal weight, cutting its price target from $60 to $28. Shares opened at $22.28 versus a prior close of $23.46.
• Analyst opinions remain mixed, but the overall consensus is “Moderate Buy” with a $53.73 price target. Targets range from $28 at Barclays to $70 at Leerink Partners.
• Institutional investors own 78.83% of uniQure, while the company continues to post losses; its latest quarterly EPS of negative $1.22 missed estimates, despite revenue exceeding expectations.

Shares of uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Barclays downgraded the stock from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating. The stock had previously closed at $23.46, but opened at $22.28. Barclays now has a $28.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $60.00. uniQure shares last traded at $22.63, with a volume of 497,326 shares trading hands.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on uniQure from $46.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded uniQure from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $61.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of uniQure from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of uniQure from $65.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of uniQure from $36.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.73.

Institutional Trading of uniQure

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of uniQure by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,150,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $147,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705,556 shares during the last quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in uniQure by 189.7% in the 1st quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,136,149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $34,926,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,749 shares in the last quarter. Siren L.L.C. acquired a new stake in uniQure during the 1st quarter worth $16,350,000. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of uniQure during the fourth quarter worth $18,390,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of uniQure by 1,107.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 776,604 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,697,000 after buying an additional 712,278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company's stock.

uniQure Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $43.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.62 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 10.01, a current ratio of 10.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.40). The business had revenue of $5.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.45 million. uniQure had a negative return on equity of 111.96% and a negative net margin of 1,350.73%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.69) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that uniQure N.V. will post -3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About uniQure

uniQure N.V. is a biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies intended to treat serious and potentially life-threatening diseases. The company uses adeno-associated virus (AAV) delivery technology to introduce genetic material into patients' cells, with the goal of addressing the underlying causes of disease through a single administration.

uniQure's lead commercial product, Hemgenix (etranacogene dezaparvovec), is a gene therapy for adults with hemophilia B who use factor IX replacement therapy.

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