uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Shares Up 6.3% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• uniQure shares jumped 6.3% to about $20.34 on Monday (intraday high $20.05), but trading was thin at 129,852 shares — roughly a 95% drop from its average daily volume of ~2.83 million.
• Analysts are mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy (10 Buys, 6 Holds, 1 Sell) with a high average price target of $43.33, and several firms recently raised targets (e.g., RBC to $35, Chardan to $37).
• uniQure beat quarterly estimates with EPS of −$0.56 vs. −$0.93 expected and revenue of $5.57M vs. $4.84M expected, but remains unprofitable with a deeply negative net margin and projected negative EPS for the year.

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 6.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $20.05 and last traded at $20.3370. 129,852 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 2,831,731 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on QURE. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on uniQure from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded uniQure from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered uniQure to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Chardan Capital upped their price target on uniQure from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on uniQure from $31.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, uniQure presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.33.

uniQure Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.96 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 10.43, a current ratio of 10.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.53.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.93) by $0.37. uniQure had a negative return on equity of 174.03% and a negative net margin of 1,236.00%.The business had revenue of $5.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 million. As a group, research analysts predict that uniQure N.V. will post -3.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Christian Klemt sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total value of $108,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 226,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,052,823.86. This trade represents a 5.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jeannette Potts sold 3,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total value of $30,912.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 138,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,254,655.98. This trade represents a 2.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,396 shares of company stock worth $722,734. 4.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of QURE. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in uniQure in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in uniQure by 509.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 609 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in uniQure during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new position in uniQure during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in uniQure during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

uniQure Company Profile

uniQure N.V. is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of gene therapies for patients with severe medical needs. Using its proprietary adeno‐associated viral (AAV) vector platform, the company designs single‐dose treatments aimed at addressing the underlying genetic causes of disease rather than solely managing symptoms. Its most advanced program, Hemgenix® (etranacogene dezaparvovec), received regulatory approval in the United States and Europe for adult patients with hemophilia B, marking one of the first gene therapies for a bleeding disorder to reach the market.

Beyond hemophilia B, uniQure's pipeline includes preclinical and clinical-stage candidates targeting rare and debilitating conditions such as aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's disease.

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