uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Shares of uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $15.04, but opened at $15.90. uniQure shares last traded at $15.29, with a volume of 103,586 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QURE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of uniQure in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of uniQure in a report on Monday, May 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of uniQure in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised uniQure from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of uniQure to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.82.

uniQure Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 6.51 and a current ratio of 6.51. The firm has a market cap of $794.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.92 and a beta of 0.10. The stock's fifty day moving average is $12.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.95.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.82) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.07) by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.93 million. uniQure had a negative net margin of 837.80% and a negative return on equity of 188.82%. On average, analysts expect that uniQure will post -3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Christian Klemt sold 10,438 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.29, for a total transaction of $107,407.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 217,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,240,441.70. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 28,341 shares of uniQure stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.29, for a total transaction of $291,628.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 651,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,703,461.66. This trade represents a 4.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,129 shares of company stock worth $412,927. 4.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On uniQure

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in uniQure during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in uniQure in the 1st quarter worth $106,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of uniQure during the 1st quarter worth about $152,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of uniQure during the fourth quarter valued at about $177,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of uniQure by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,062 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

About uniQure

uniQure N.V. develops treatments for patients suffering from rare and other devastating diseases. It offers HEMGENIX that has completed Phase III HOPE-B pivotal trial for the treatment of hemophilia B. The company also develops AMT-130, a gene therapy that is in Phase I/II clinical study for the treatment of Huntington's disease.