Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs upgraded Stoke Therapeutics to “strong-buy,” adding to a broadly positive analyst backdrop. The stock now carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $42.
• The company shares fell 6.1% to $29.46 even after the upgrade, leaving the stock below the average analyst price target and still within its 12-month range of $11.66 to $40.22.
• Stoke reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss of ($0.79) per share versus estimates of ($0.80), though revenue missed expectations and the company remains unprofitable. Insider selling was also disclosed, while several institutions increased their stakes.

Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on STOK. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Stoke Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Stoke Therapeutics from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Stoke Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Stoke Therapeutics from $36.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Stoke Therapeutics from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.00.

Stoke Therapeutics Trading Down 6.1%

NASDAQ STOK opened at $29.46 on Monday. Stoke Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $11.66 and a 12 month high of $40.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 1.17. The company's 50 day moving average is $30.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.33.

Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.79) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.80) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 million. Stoke Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 529.20% and a negative return on equity of 48.84%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Stoke Therapeutics will post -3.22 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stoke Therapeutics news, General Counsel Jonathan Allan sold 1,457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.95, for a total value of $43,637.15. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 18,086 shares in the company, valued at $541,675.70. The trade was a 7.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Barry Ticho sold 1,795 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.58, for a total transaction of $54,891.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,064,979.08. This trade represents a 4.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 9.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stoke Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Stoke Therapeutics by 5.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Stoke Therapeutics by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,662,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,053,000 after buying an additional 293,072 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Stoke Therapeutics by 125.2% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 26,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 15,001 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Stoke Therapeutics by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 25,655 shares of the company's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 5,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Stoke Therapeutics by 33.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 66,419 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 16,820 shares during the last quarter.

About Stoke Therapeutics

Stoke Therapeutics, headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing genetic medicines to upregulate protein production for the treatment of rare neuromuscular and neurological disorders. Founded in 2014, the company applies its proprietary Targeted Augmentation of Nuclear Gene Output (TANGO™) platform to design antisense oligonucleotides that selectively modulate RNA splicing and enhance expression of functional proteins.

The company's lead program, STK-001, is an antisense oligonucleotide therapy designed to increase production of the sodium channel protein SCN1A and is currently in clinical development for Dravet syndrome, a severe childhood-onset epilepsy.

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