Design Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DSGN) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Design Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DSGN)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $10.13, but opened at $10.48. Design Therapeutics shares last traded at $10.10, with a volume of 9,741 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DSGN. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Design Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Design Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Craig Hallum began coverage on Design Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Design Therapeutics from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $6.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $14.00 price target on Design Therapeutics and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

Design Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $567.26 million, a PE ratio of -8.35 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.07.

Design Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DSGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by $0.04. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Design Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.91 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Design Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DSGN. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Design Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Design Therapeutics by 69.6% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 2,618 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Design Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Design Therapeutics by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 3,033 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Design Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $70,000. 56.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Design Therapeutics

Design Therapeutics, Inc a biopharmaceutical company, researches, designs, develops, and commercializes small molecule therapeutic drugs for the treatment of genetic diseases in the United States. The company utilizes its GeneTAC platform to design and develop therapeutic candidates for inherited diseases caused by nucleotide repeat expansion. Its lead product candidates for potentially disease-modifying treatment comprises Friedreich Ataxia, a monogenic, autosomal recessive, progressive multi-system disease that affects organ systems dependent on mitochondrial function that brings to neurological, cardiac, and metabolic dysfunction; Myotonic Dystrophy Type-1, a dominantly-inherited, monogenic progressive neuromuscular disease affecting skeletal muscle, heart, brain, and other organs; Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy, a genetic eye disease characterized by bilateral degeneration of corneal endothelial cells and progressive loss of vision; and Huntington's Disease, a dominantly inherited, monogenic neurodegenerative disease characterized by movement, cognitive, and psychiatric disorders.