Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.50.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Galapagos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Galapagos in a report on Thursday, March 7th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (down previously from $41.00) on shares of Galapagos in a report on Thursday, March 28th.

Galapagos Price Performance

Shares of Galapagos stock opened at $29.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.01 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.59. Galapagos has a fifty-two week low of $29.79 and a fifty-two week high of $45.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Galapagos

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Galapagos by 173.8% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 19,149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 12,154 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Galapagos by 0.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,317,676 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $149,176,000 after purchasing an additional 28,497 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Galapagos by 357.6% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,265 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Galapagos by 7,243.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 90,686 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,133,000 after purchasing an additional 89,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Galapagos by 7.7% during the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 350,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,092,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. 32.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Galapagos

Galapagos NV, an integrated biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of?various medicines for high unmet medical need. Its pipeline products include filgotinib, a JAK1 inhibitor that is in various phases of clinical trials for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and uveitis.