uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Shares Up 9.1% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• uniQure shares jumped 9.1% to about $19.17 on Monday on below-average volume, and the stock carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $42.83.
• Analysts are split — 10 Buys, 6 Holds and 1 Sell — with notable target swings: Mizuho upgraded to "outperform" and raised its target to $35 while Barclays trimmed its target to $25.
• Fundamentals are mixed: uniQure beat quarterly EPS estimates (-$0.56 vs. -$0.93) but has negative margins and a $1.13B market cap, insiders (including the CEO and CFO) sold shares recently, and the company markets the approved gene therapy Hemgenix.

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) shares shot up 9.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $18.80 and last traded at $19.1740. 841,828 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 3,014,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on QURE. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of uniQure in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of uniQure from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of uniQure in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of uniQure from $31.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of uniQure from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $35.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.83.

uniQure Stock Up 3.0%

The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.27 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 10.43, a quick ratio of 10.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $17.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.10.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.93) by $0.37. uniQure had a negative net margin of 1,236.00% and a negative return on equity of 174.03%. The company had revenue of $5.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 million. Sell-side analysts predict that uniQure N.V. will post -3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 14,581 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total value of $132,103.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 660,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,985,561.48. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christian Klemt sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.06, for a total transaction of $108,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 226,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,052,823.86. This trade represents a 5.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 49,396 shares of company stock valued at $722,734 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On uniQure

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in uniQure by 1,107.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 776,604 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $12,697,000 after acquiring an additional 712,278 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in uniQure by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,150,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $147,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705,556 shares in the last quarter. Flax Pond Capital LLC bought a new stake in uniQure in the 4th quarter valued at $3,506,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP bought a new stake in uniQure in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in uniQure by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 13,636 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 6,520 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About uniQure

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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