Silence Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SLN) Shares Down 1.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares fell 1.8% to $7.70 on Friday with volume up about 84% versus average, and analysts are mixed but the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $34.50.
• The company reported Q1 EPS of ($0.25), beating estimates of ($0.32) by $0.07, but revenue was only $0.03 million versus expectations of $2.19 million and the business shows extremely negative margins.
• Institutional investors own 98.73% of the stock, with hedge funds like Nantahala and Millennium materially increasing stakes in the most recent quarter.

Shares of Silence Therapeutics PLC Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:SLN - Get Free Report) traded down 1.8% on Friday . The company traded as low as $7.57 and last traded at $7.70. 737,392 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 84% from the average session volume of 401,685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Silence Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Silence Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Silence Therapeutics in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Silence Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.50.

Silence Therapeutics Trading Down 1.8%

The firm has a market cap of $363.67 million, a PE ratio of -4.12 and a beta of 1.33. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $6.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.06.

Silence Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SLN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 6th. The company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $0.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.19 million. Silence Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 15,851.88% and a negative return on equity of 101.71%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Silence Therapeutics PLC Sponsored ADR will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Silence Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SLN. Nantahala Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Silence Therapeutics by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 1,542,427 shares of the company's stock worth $9,378,000 after acquiring an additional 500,000 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Silence Therapeutics by 121.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 659,592 shares of the company's stock worth $4,010,000 after acquiring an additional 361,080 shares in the last quarter. Ishara Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Silence Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,459,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Silence Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $897,000. Finally, Opaleye Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Silence Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $480,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.73% of the company's stock.

About Silence Therapeutics

Silence Therapeutics plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) therapeutics. Leveraging its proprietary EnCore lipid nanoparticle delivery platform, the company aims to silence disease-causing genes in the liver and other tissues. Silence's technology is designed to enhance targeted delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules, with the goal of achieving durable therapeutic effects and improved safety profiles compared with traditional drug modalities.

The company's lead product candidates include SLN360, an siRNA therapeutic designed to reduce lipoprotein(a) levels for cardiovascular risk reduction, and SLN124, aimed at treating hereditary hemochromatosis and beta-thalassemia by modulating iron metabolism.

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