uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest dropped 13.7% to 10,981,448 shares as of March 31, equal to about 18.4% of shares sold short and a days-to-cover ratio of 5.5 based on average daily volume.
• Insiders have been selling: CFO Christian Klemt sold 12,000 shares and Jeannette Potts sold 3,412 on March 4, with insiders disposing of 49,396 shares (~$722,734) over the past 90 days and now owning 4.79% of the company.
• Stock and analyst backdrop: Shares rose ~5.5% to $17.74 after uniQure posted an EPS beat (−$0.56 vs. −$0.93), the company has a market cap of ~$1.11B, and analysts show mixed views with an average "Moderate Buy" rating and a $42.75 target.

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,981,448 shares, a decline of 13.7% from the March 15th total of 12,718,685 shares. Approximately 18.4% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,985,368 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Christian Klemt sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeannette Potts sold 3,412 shares of uniQure stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 138,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,254,655.98. The trade was a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 49,396 shares of company stock worth $722,734 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QURE. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in uniQure during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of uniQure in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of uniQure in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in uniQure by 76.7% during the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company's stock.

uniQure Stock Up 5.5%

Shares of uniQure stock traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $17.74. The company had a trading volume of 894,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,031,782. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 10.43 and a quick ratio of 10.43. The company's 50-day moving average is $17.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.79. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.09 and a beta of 0.75. uniQure has a twelve month low of $8.73 and a twelve month high of $71.50.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 million. Analysts anticipate that uniQure will post -3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on QURE. Stifel Nicolaus set a $14.00 price objective on shares of uniQure in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of uniQure from $31.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded uniQure from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised uniQure from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Chardan Capital increased their price target on uniQure from $16.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.75.

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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