uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Shares Up 5.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• uniQure shares rose 5.6% in Thursday midday trading, reaching $25.96; trading volume was 73% below its average.
• Analysts give the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average price target of $56.83.
• Quarterly results were mixed: uniQure’s loss of $0.88 per share was better than expected, but revenue of $5.2 million fell short of forecasts.

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $25.70 and last traded at $25.9570. 646,975 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 2,401,587 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on QURE shares. Wolfe Research raised uniQure from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $71.00 price target on shares of uniQure in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of uniQure in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. William Blair upgraded shares of uniQure to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of uniQure from $65.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.83.

uniQure Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.35 and a 200-day moving average of $29.68. The company has a quick ratio of 11.52, a current ratio of 11.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.34 and a beta of 1.14.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.92) by $0.04. uniQure had a negative return on equity of 96.34% and a negative net margin of 1,154.84%. The business had revenue of $5.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that uniQure N.V. will post -3.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of uniQure

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in uniQure during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,809,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of uniQure in the third quarter valued at $2,026,000. Privium Fund Management B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of uniQure in the third quarter valued at $5,223,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its stake in shares of uniQure by 63.3% during the third quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 153,890 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,718,000 after acquiring an additional 59,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in uniQure in the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

About uniQure

uniQure N.V. is a biotechnology company that develops gene therapies for serious genetic and other diseases. The company uses adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors to deliver genetic material to patients' cells, with research and development operations in the United States and the Netherlands. Its programs have targeted conditions including Huntington's disease, epilepsy and hemophilia B. uniQure developed the gene therapy now known as Hemgenix for hemophilia B; it is commercialized by CSL Behring under a partnership.

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