uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• uniQure shares gapped up from a previous close of $47.86 to open at $50.72, though they later traded near $47.59.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 14 analysts rate the stock Buy, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a $65 price target; recent targets range from $61 to $70.
• The company remains unprofitable, reporting a quarterly EPS loss of $1.22 versus expectations of $0.82, while insiders sold approximately $16.7 million in shares over the past 90 days.

Shares of uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $47.86, but opened at $50.72. uniQure shares last traded at $47.5850, with a volume of 468,709 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on QURE shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $28.00 price objective on shares of uniQure in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised uniQure from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Mizuho upped their price target on uniQure from $35.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on uniQure from $35.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price objective on uniQure from $36.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued 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 $65.00.

uniQure Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 10.01 and a current ratio of 10.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.53 and a beta of 0.94.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.82) by ($0.40). uniQure had a negative net margin of 1,350.73% and a negative return on equity of 111.96%. The business had revenue of $5.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.69) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that uniQure N.V. will post -3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at uniQure

In other news, Director Madhavan Balachandran sold 11,685 shares of uniQure stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total value of $526,526.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,254 shares in the company, valued at $1,949,025.24. The trade was a 21.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 164,429 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.32, for a total transaction of $7,287,493.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 558,810 shares in the company, valued at $24,766,459.20. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their position. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 385,584 shares of company stock valued at $16,737,722. 4.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On uniQure

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in QURE. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP bought a new stake in uniQure in the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,254. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in uniQure by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,141 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of uniQure by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 3,650 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in uniQure during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of uniQure during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

uniQure Company Profile

uniQure N.V. is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of gene therapies for patients with severe medical needs. Using its proprietary adeno‐associated viral (AAV) vector platform, the company designs single‐dose treatments aimed at addressing the underlying genetic causes of disease rather than solely managing symptoms. Its most advanced program, Hemgenix® (etranacogene dezaparvovec), received regulatory approval in the United States and Europe for adult patients with hemophilia B, marking one of the first gene therapies for a bleeding disorder to reach the market.

Beyond hemophilia B, uniQure's pipeline includes preclinical and clinical-stage candidates targeting rare and debilitating conditions such as aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's disease.

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