uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Stock Price Down 5.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• uniQure shares fell 5.5% after Barclays downgraded the stock from “overweight” to “equal weight” and cut its price target from $60 to $28.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $53.73 average price target, despite recent downgrades and upgrades across Wall Street.
• Institutional investors own 78.83% of uniQure, while the company continues to report substantial losses; its latest quarterly EPS of -$1.22 missed estimates of -$0.82.

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 5.5% on Tuesday after Barclays downgraded the stock from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating. Barclays now has a $28.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $60.00. uniQure traded as low as $21.84 and last traded at $21.5470. Approximately 260,059 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 2,454,204 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.80.

QURE has been the subject of several other reports. Leerink Partners raised their target price on uniQure from $36.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. William Blair upgraded shares of uniQure to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of uniQure from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of uniQure from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of uniQure in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, uniQure has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On uniQure

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QURE. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,705,556 shares in the last quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of uniQure by 189.7% during the 1st quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,136,149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $34,926,000 after buying an additional 1,398,749 shares in the last quarter. Siren L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of uniQure in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $16,350,000. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in uniQure during the fourth quarter worth $18,390,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of uniQure by 1,107.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 776,604 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,697,000 after acquiring an additional 712,278 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

uniQure Trading Down 5.9%

The firm has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.33 and a beta of 1.06. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $42.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.50. 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 issued its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $5.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.45 million. uniQure had a negative net margin of 1,350.73% and a negative return on equity of 111.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.69) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.