uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Trading 10% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• uniQure's stock price increased by 10% on Monday, reaching a high of $63.80, despite a 23% decrease in trading volume compared to its average.
• Recent analyst reports have significantly raised target prices for uniQure, with estimates ranging from $60.00 to $95.00 as multiple firms rated the stock as a "buy".
• The company reported earnings with a less negative EPS than expected, achieving ($0.69) against a consensus estimate of ($0.89), indicating some positive momentum.

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) shares traded up 10% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $63.58 and last traded at $63.80. 1,542,920 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 1,998,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on QURE shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of uniQure from $30.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of uniQure from $30.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group set a $95.00 price objective on uniQure in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Guggenheim raised their target price on uniQure from $28.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of uniQure in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.75.

uniQure Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.31 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 9.98, a quick ratio of 9.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company's fifty day moving average is $30.77 and its 200 day moving average is $19.72.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.00 million. uniQure had a negative return on equity of 1,010.74% and a negative net margin of 1,387.98%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that uniQure N.V. will post -3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at uniQure

In related news, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 226,316 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.46, for a total transaction of $9,383,061.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 651,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,009,282.84. The trade was a 25.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Christian Klemt sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $825,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 217,730 shares in the company, valued at $11,975,150. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 244,316 shares of company stock valued at $10,328,181 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of uniQure in the third quarter worth $28,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in uniQure by 51.8% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 102,124 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,961,000 after buying an additional 34,864 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new position in uniQure in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,081,000. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of uniQure by 304.4% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 42,444 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 31,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of uniQure by 358.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,085 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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