uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Stock Price Up 8.6% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares rose about 8.6% to roughly $24.66 mid-day Monday, trading as high as $24.42 on volume of ~788,212 shares (down ~57% vs. the daily average).
• Analysts hold a consensus Moderate Buy (10 Buys, 3 Holds, 1 Sell) with a consensus target of $58.33, though several firms recently trimmed price targets (e.g., Stifel to $40, RBC to $45, Barclays $31).
• uniQure missed quarterly estimates with a ($1.38) EPS vs. ($0.85) expected and carries deeply negative margins; insiders sold ~102,247 shares in the past three months while institutional ownership is ~78.8%.

Shares of uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) rose 8.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $24.42 and last traded at $24.6630. Approximately 788,212 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 1,823,675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on QURE. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on uniQure from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of uniQure in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on uniQure from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of uniQure in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of uniQure in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.33.

uniQure Trading Up 8.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 7.12 and a current ratio of 7.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.63 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.53.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by ($0.53). The firm had revenue of $3.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 million. uniQure had a negative return on equity of 373.73% and a negative net margin of 1,492.90%. On average, research analysts forecast that uniQure N.V. will post -3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at uniQure

In other news, Director Jack Kaye sold 38,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.34, for a total transaction of $1,177,495.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at $620,119.26. The trade was a 65.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Gut sold 31,434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.26, for a total value of $856,890.84. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,094,352.70. This represents a 43.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 102,247 shares of company stock valued at $2,839,298 over the last three months. 4.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On uniQure

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of uniQure by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,444,444 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $259,422,000 after acquiring an additional 819,444 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in uniQure by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 3,678,640 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $88,030,000 after acquiring an additional 738,897 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of uniQure during the second quarter valued at $29,217,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in uniQure by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,988,581 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $116,073,000 after acquiring an additional 383,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in uniQure by 471.7% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,807,685 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491,486 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company's stock.

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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