ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (NASDAQ:PRQR) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate ProQR Therapeutics “Moderate Buy”: Four of six covering analysts recommend buying the stock, while one rates it a hold and one a sell. The average 12-month price target is $7.33, versus a recent share price of $1.71.
• ProQR reported quarterly EPS of -$0.15, in line with expectations, but revenue of $2.35 million fell short of the $5.19 million consensus estimate. Analysts forecast a full-year loss of $0.52 per share.
• Insiders bought 600,000 shares worth $988,500 over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 32.65% of the company. The CEO and a director each purchased 150,000 shares in July.

ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (NASDAQ:PRQR - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.3333.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PRQR. Weiss Ratings cut ProQR Therapeutics from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered ProQR Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. JonesTrading dropped their price objective on shares of ProQR Therapeutics from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Chardan Capital cut their target price on shares of ProQR Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of ProQR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th.

ProQR Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of PRQR opened at $1.71 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $1.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $180.17 million, a P/E ratio of -3.42 and a beta of 0.07. ProQR Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.33 and a fifty-two week high of $3.10.

ProQR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PRQR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.15). ProQR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 84.87% and a negative net margin of 331.33%.The business had revenue of $2.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.19 million. Analysts forecast that ProQR Therapeutics will post -0.52 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ProQR Therapeutics news, CEO Boer Daniel Anton De bought 150,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.74 per share, for a total transaction of $261,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 300,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $522,000. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bart Filius bought 150,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.72 per share, for a total transaction of $258,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 300,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,000. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 600,000 shares of company stock valued at $988,500 in the last ninety days. 8.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ProQR Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Privium Fund Management B.V. grew its holdings in ProQR Therapeutics by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 5,357,762 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,823,000 after purchasing an additional 359,475 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in shares of ProQR Therapeutics by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,950,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,960,000 after buying an additional 651,853 shares in the last quarter. Ikarian Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of ProQR Therapeutics by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Ikarian Capital LLC now owns 1,492,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,014,000 after buying an additional 600,000 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its stake in ProQR Therapeutics by 73.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 657,012 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 277,749 shares during the period. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC grew its stake in ProQR Therapeutics by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 607,529 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $984,000 after acquiring an additional 15,744 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 32.65% of the company's stock.

About ProQR Therapeutics

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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