Wall Street Zen Upgrades Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) to "Sell"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Abeona Therapeutics from “strong sell” to “sell,” though broader analyst sentiment remains more favorable, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $19.
• ABEO opened at $6.42, near the upper end of its $4.00–$7.54 52-week range. The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting a $0.30-per-share loss versus the projected $0.33 loss and revenue of $8.72 million against a $4.57 million estimate.
• Insiders sold 312,769 shares worth approximately $1.89 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 80.56% of the company.

Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

ABEO has been the topic of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Abeona Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Abeona Therapeutics from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.00.

Abeona Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of ABEO opened at $6.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $365.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 1.34. Abeona Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $4.00 and a 1-year high of $7.54. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $6.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.46. The company has a current ratio of 5.89, a quick ratio of 5.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.33) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.57 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Abeona Therapeutics will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abeona Therapeutics

In other Abeona Therapeutics news, Director Eric Crombez sold 26,143 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.53, for a total value of $144,570.79. Following the sale, the director owned 37,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $206,340.89. The trade was a 41.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Christine Berni Silverstein sold 18,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.71, for a total transaction of $103,693.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 119,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $682,699.02. This represents a 13.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 312,769 shares of company stock worth $1,887,560 over the last 90 days. 7.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abeona Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Abeona Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Abeona Therapeutics by 49.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 2,155 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Abeona Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Abeona Therapeutics by 191.4% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 10,307 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 6,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Abeona Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Abeona Therapeutics

Abeona Therapeutics is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of gene and cell therapies for severe, life‐threatening rare diseases and oncology indications. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Abeona leverages proprietary viral and non‐viral delivery platforms to correct or compensate for underlying genetic deficiencies. The company's research efforts target pediatric neurodegenerative disorders as well as debilitating dermatologic conditions with high unmet medical need.

The company's lead clinical programs include separate AAV‐based gene therapies for CLN1 and CLN3 forms of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, alongside an ex vivo autologous cell therapy for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.

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