uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Stock Falls 6.8% – What’s Next?

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE) shares fell 6.8% on Thursday. The company traded as low as $40.58 and last traded at $39.8310. Approximately 399,138 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 2,274,288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on QURE shares. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of uniQure from $36.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of uniQure in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of uniQure from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of uniQure from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of uniQure from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.55.

uniQure Stock Down 0.2%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.99. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.53 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 10.01 and a current ratio of 10.01.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $5.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.45 million. uniQure had a negative return on equity of 111.96% and a negative net margin of 1,350.73%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.69) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that uniQure N.V. will post -3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Walid Abi-Saab sold 30,000 shares of uniQure stock in a transaction on 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 owned 148,235 shares in the company, valued at $6,881,068.70. This trade represents a 16.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 21,082 shares of uniQure stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.16, for a total transaction of $952,063.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 519,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,448,291.32. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,249 shares of company stock valued at $3,327,659. Corporate insiders own 4.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of uniQure by 39.8% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,780 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the period. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in uniQure during the 2nd quarter valued at about $390,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in uniQure by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,940 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC bought a new position in uniQure during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $279,000. Finally, Seven Fleet Capital Management LP bought a new position in uniQure during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,254. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About uniQure

uniQure N.V. is a biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for serious and life-threatening diseases. The company uses adeno-associated virus (AAV) technology to deliver genetic material intended to address the underlying causes of disease, with research activities spanning neurological, neuromuscular, metabolic and cardiovascular conditions.

uniQure’s pipeline has included AMT-130, an investigational gene therapy for Huntington’s disease, as well as programs targeting other conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Fabry disease.