ProQR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PRQR) Earns "Buy" Rating from Chardan Capital

Key Points

• Chardan Capital reiterated a Buy rating on ProQR with a $4 price target (implying ~118.58% upside); the analyst consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $6.80 and Oppenheimer recently set a $9 target.
• ProQR's latest quarter missed EPS and revenue (EPS -$0.09 vs. -$0.08 est.; revenue $5.53M vs. $6.12M), with a very negative net margin (~255.8%) and an expected full-year EPS around -0.31.
• The stock opened near $1.83 (market cap ~$192.8M), was up ~7.6% on the day, trades in a 12‑month range of $1.07–$3.10, and about 32.65% of shares are held by institutional investors.

ProQR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PRQR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by research analysts at Chardan Capital in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $4.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Chardan Capital's price target points to a potential upside of 118.58% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on PRQR. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of ProQR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ProQR Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of ProQR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of ProQR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $9.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.80.

ProQR Therapeutics Stock Up 7.6%

PRQR stock opened at $1.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $192.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.98 and a beta of 0.10. ProQR Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $1.07 and a 12-month high of $3.10. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $1.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.99.

ProQR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PRQR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $5.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 million. ProQR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 255.83% and a negative return on equity of 65.89%. Research analysts expect that ProQR Therapeutics will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProQR Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRQR. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of ProQR Therapeutics by 59.6% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 12,050 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of ProQR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC bought a new stake in shares of ProQR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of ProQR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of ProQR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $64,000. 32.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ProQR Therapeutics Company Profile

ProQR Therapeutics N.V. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing RNA-based therapies for severe genetic diseases. Utilizing its proprietary Axiomer® RNA editing platform, ProQR aims to correct disease-causing mutations directly at the messenger RNA level. The company's pipeline features several investigational candidates, including sepofarsen (formerly QR-110) for Leber congenital amaurosis type 10, QR-421a targeting Usher syndrome and certain forms of retinitis pigmentosa, and QR-313 for dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Leiden, the Netherlands, ProQR maintains a significant presence in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to support its clinical research and regulatory initiatives.

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