Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Stoke Therapeutics reached a new 52-week high of $18.85, with analysts generally maintaining a positive outlook on the stock, reflected in multiple "buy" ratings and a consensus target price of $25.57.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of ($0.40), surpassing analyst expectations, although its revenue was significantly below estimates at $13.82 million.
• Insider trading activity showed a 20% decrease in ownership for one insider and a 41% decrease for another, amidst reports of increasing institutional investment in the company.

Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STOK - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $18.85 and last traded at $18.49, with a volume of 1380042 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on STOK shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Stoke Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. BTIG Research set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Stoke Therapeutics and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Stoke Therapeutics from $16.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Stoke Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Stoke Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.57.

Stoke Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $13.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68 and a beta of 1.15.

Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by $0.17. Stoke Therapeutics had a net margin of 26.25% and a return on equity of 18.32%. The company had revenue of $13.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.51 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Barry Ticho sold 6,471 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.03, for a total value of $64,904.13. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $258,593.46. This represents a 20.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan Allan sold 13,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $205,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 19,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $294,465. This trade represents a 41.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,432 shares of company stock valued at $345,775. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Stoke Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STOK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Stoke Therapeutics by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 4,512 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Stoke Therapeutics by 1,842.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 5,084 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Stoke Therapeutics by 123.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 95,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 52,813 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Stoke Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,423,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in Stoke Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $139,000.

Stoke Therapeutics Company Profile

Stoke Therapeutics, Inc, an early-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines to treat the underlying causes of severe genetic diseases in the United States. The company utilizes its proprietary targeted augmentation of nuclear gene output to develop antisense oligonucleotides to selectively restore protein levels.