Walid Abi-Saab Sells 30,000 Shares of uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Stock

Key Points

• Insider selling: uniQure insider Walid Abi-Saab sold 30,000 shares at an average price of $46.42, totaling about $1.39 million. The sale, filed with the SEC, was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• Stock moved lower: QURE fell 7.4% to $41.81 in Thursday trading, though volume was roughly in line with its average. The stock remains far above its 52-week low of $8.73 but below its high of $71.50.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish: Several brokerages recently raised price targets, including Mizuho to $68 and Leerink to $70, with the consensus rating at Moderate Buy and an average target of $64.17.

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) insider Walid Abi-Saab sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.42, for a total value of $1,392,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 148,235 shares in the company, valued at $6,881,068.70. This trade represents a 16.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Walid Abi-Saab also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, June 26th, Walid Abi-Saab sold 1,434 shares of uniQure stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.86, for a total transaction of $67,197.24.
• On Friday, May 8th, Walid Abi-Saab sold 45,000 shares of uniQure stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.06, for a total value of $1,127,700.00.

uniQure Trading Down 7.4%

NASDAQ QURE traded down $3.36 during trading on Thursday, hitting $41.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,806,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,743,461. uniQure N.V. has a one year low of $8.73 and a one year high of $71.50. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.01 and a beta of 0.90. The company's fifty day moving average is $29.56 and its 200-day moving average is $23.58. The company has a current ratio of 10.40, a quick ratio of 10.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.85) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by $0.03. uniQure had a negative return on equity of 145.81% and a negative net margin of 1,154.42%.The company had revenue of $3.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that uniQure N.V. will post -3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On uniQure

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of uniQure by 123.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,231,043 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $77,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787,033 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of uniQure by 155.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,934,626 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,226,000 after buying an additional 1,785,275 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of uniQure by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,150,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $147,170,000 after buying an additional 1,705,556 shares during the last quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC increased its holdings in uniQure by 189.7% in the 1st quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,136,149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $34,926,000 after buying an additional 1,398,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MPM Bioimpact LLC bought a new stake in uniQure in the 4th quarter worth about $33,062,000. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More uniQure News

Here are the key news stories impacting uniQure this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised earnings estimates across several years and maintained a Buy rating with an $80 price target, reinforcing bullish long-term expectations for uniQure. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks said uniQure is trading above a golden cross, a technical pattern that can attract momentum buyers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A market article compared uniQure with Viridian Therapeutics, which may have prompted some relative-value interest but does not appear to reflect a company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Walid Abi-Saab sold shares again, which can pressure sentiment even though the sale was modest in size. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on QURE. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of uniQure from $35.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of uniQure from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of uniQure from $35.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on uniQure from $36.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded uniQure from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.17.

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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