Prime Medicine (NYSE:PRME) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Prime Medicine's stock price gapped up to $4.87 before trading on Wednesday, marking an increase from its previous closing price of $4.67.
• A number of analysts have issued mixed ratings, with one Strong Buy, four Buy, and three Hold ratings; the average price target for the stock stands at $8.92.
• Major insiders have made significant stock purchases, including David R. Liu acquiring 21,000 shares and Arch Venture Partners buying over 3 million shares, indicating increased confidence in the company's potential.

Prime Medicine, Inc. (NYSE:PRME - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.67, but opened at $4.87. Prime Medicine shares last traded at $4.86, with a volume of 1,067,300 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRME has been the subject of several analyst reports. Chardan Capital lowered their price target on shares of Prime Medicine from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $1.50 price target (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Prime Medicine in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Prime Medicine in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $8.92.

Prime Medicine Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.55. The stock has a market cap of $658.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.39 and a beta of 2.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Arch Venture Partners Xii, Llc bought 3,030,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $3.30 per share, with a total value of $9,999,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 6,230,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,559,990. This trade represents a 94.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder David R. Liu purchased 21,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $2.16 per share, with a total value of $45,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 20,219,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,675,081.20. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 22.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prime Medicine

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRME. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Prime Medicine by 1,419.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 243,795 shares of the company's stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 227,749 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Prime Medicine in the second quarter worth $531,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Prime Medicine by 4.2% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,143,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,245,000 after buying an additional 165,268 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Prime Medicine during the second quarter worth about $330,000. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. raised its stake in Prime Medicine by 137.4% in the fourth quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 186,780 shares of the company's stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 108,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.37% of the company's stock.

Prime Medicine Company Profile

Prime Medicine, Inc, a biotechnology company, delivers genetic therapies to address the spectrum of diseases by deploying gene editing technology. The company offers Prime Editors with a Prime Editor protein, comprising a fusion between a Cas protein and a reverse transcriptase enzyme; and a pegRNA, which targets the Prime Editor to a specific genomic location and provides a template for making the desired edit to the target DNA sequence.