Short Interest in ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (NASDAQ:PRQR) Increases By 92.5%

ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (NASDAQ:PRQR) saw a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,308,954 shares, an increase of 92.5% from the June 30th total of 1,199,214 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,317,001 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRQR has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ProQR Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. JonesTrading decreased their target price on shares of ProQR Therapeutics from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Chardan Capital lowered their target price on shares of ProQR Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of ProQR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded ProQR Therapeutics from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ProQR Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Boer Daniel Anton De bought 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1.74 per share, with a total value of $261,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 300,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $522,000. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bart Filius acquired 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1.72 per share, with a total value of $258,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 300,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $516,000. This represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 600,000 shares of company stock valued at $988,500 over the last 90 days. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of ProQR Therapeutics by 59.6% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 12,050 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC purchased a new position in ProQR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC bought a new position in ProQR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in ProQR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ProQR Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 32.65% of the company’s stock.

ProQR Therapeutics Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PRQR traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1.73. The stock had a trading volume of 692,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 712,023. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1.67 and its 200-day moving average is $1.64. The company has a market cap of $181.75 million, a P/E ratio of -3.45 and a beta of 0.04. ProQR Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $1.33 and a 52 week high of $3.10.

ProQR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PRQR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.15). The company had revenue of $2.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 million. ProQR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 331.33% and a negative return on equity of 84.87%. As a group, analysts expect that ProQR Therapeutics will post -0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ProQR Therapeutics Company Profile

ProQR Therapeutics N.V. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing RNA-based therapies for severe genetic diseases. Utilizing its proprietary Axiomer® RNA editing platform, ProQR aims to correct disease-causing mutations directly at the messenger RNA level. The company’s pipeline features several investigational candidates, including sepofarsen (formerly QR-110) for Leber congenital amaurosis type 10, QR-421a targeting Usher syndrome and certain forms of retinitis pigmentosa, and QR-313 for dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Leiden, the Netherlands, ProQR maintains a significant presence in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to support its clinical research and regulatory initiatives.