Q32 Bio (NASDAQ:QTTB) Shares Up 4.6% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares rose 4.6% to $5.90 intraday with volume about 59% below average, and analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $13.00, implying notable upside from current levels.
• Q32 Bio reported quarterly EPS of $3.65 (beating estimates) and revenue of $53.74M, yet analysts still forecast a negative full-year EPS (-12.32), signaling mixed near-term expectations.
• Company insiders have been selling (CEO sold 9,896 shares), though insiders still own 40% of shares and institutional ownership is about 31.3%, with recent stake increases by Renaissance, Geode and Goldman.

Shares of Q32 Bio Inc. (NASDAQ:QTTB - Get Free Report) shot up 4.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $6.05 and last traded at $5.90. 159,838 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 386,998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on QTTB. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Q32 Bio in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Q32 Bio from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Q32 Bio in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Q32 Bio currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.00.

Q32 Bio Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $86.32 million, a PE ratio of 2.57 and a beta of -0.05. The stock's 50 day moving average is $5.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 4.85 and a current ratio of 4.85.

Q32 Bio (NASDAQ:QTTB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.06) by $4.71. The company had revenue of $53.74 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Q32 Bio Inc. will post -12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Q32 Bio news, CEO Jodie Pope Morrison sold 9,896 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.51, for a total value of $44,630.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 89,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $401,859.04. This represents a 10.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,706 shares of company stock valued at $75,344. Company insiders own 40.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Q32 Bio

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Opaleye Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Q32 Bio in the 4th quarter valued at about $708,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Q32 Bio by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 106,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 17,617 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Q32 Bio by 110.6% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 99,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 52,300 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Q32 Bio in the 2nd quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Q32 Bio by 140.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 44,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 25,953 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.32% of the company's stock.

About Q32 Bio

Q32 Bio Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops biologic therapeutics to restore healthy immune balance in patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases driven by pathological immune dysfunction in the United States. Its lead product candidate is ADX-097, a humanized anti-C3d monoclonal antibody fusion protein to restore complement regulation, which has completed Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of renal and other complement-mediated diseases of high unmet need, including lupus nephritis, immunoglobulin A nephropathy, complement component 3 glomerulopathy, and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis.

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