ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (NASDAQ:PRQR) Short Interest Down 24.4% in April

Key Points

• Short interest in ProQR fell by 24.4% in April to 1,261,281 shares (about 1.3% of shares short) with a short-interest ratio of 1.7 days.
• Several institutional investors—including Aberdeen, Ikarian, Privium, Citadel and Millennium—raised stakes in the fourth quarter, leaving institutions owning 32.65% of the company.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $7.25 (6 Buys, 1 Hold, 1 Sell); the stock traded near $1.54 with a market cap of ~$162M after reporting quarterly EPS of -$0.09 and a revenue miss.

ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (NASDAQ:PRQR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,261,281 shares, a decline of 24.4% from the March 31st total of 1,667,465 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 736,794 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company's shares are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRQR. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in ProQR Therapeutics by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,950,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,960,000 after purchasing an additional 651,853 shares during the last quarter. Ikarian Capital LLC boosted its holdings in ProQR Therapeutics by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Ikarian Capital LLC now owns 1,492,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,014,000 after purchasing an additional 600,000 shares during the last quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. boosted 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 last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ProQR Therapeutics by 73.2% in the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 657,012 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 277,749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in ProQR Therapeutics by 80.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 434,991 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 194,369 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 32.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PRQR shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of ProQR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded ProQR Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of ProQR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Chardan Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of ProQR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on ProQR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $9.00 price objective on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ProQR Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.25.

ProQR Therapeutics Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of PRQR traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $1.54. 1,156,889 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 525,183. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.94. The company has a market cap of $162.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.35 and a beta of 0.10. ProQR Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $1.33 and a 1-year high of $3.10.

ProQR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PRQR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $5.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 million. ProQR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 65.89% and a negative net margin of 255.83%. Equities research analysts anticipate that ProQR Therapeutics will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

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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