uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Stock Price Down 7.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE) traded down 7.4% during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $60.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. uniQure traded as low as $28.80 and last traded at $28.5570. 1,760,884 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 2,229,264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.84.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on QURE. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of uniQure in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim upped their price target on uniQure from $28.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on uniQure from $30.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of uniQure in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of uniQure in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, uniQure currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jack Kaye sold 38,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.34, for a total transaction of $1,177,495.40. Following the sale, the director owned 20,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $620,119.26. This represents a 65.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 226,316 shares of uniQure stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.46, for a total value of $9,383,061.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 651,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,009,282.84. The trade was a 25.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,560 shares of company stock valued at $12,362,568. 4.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of uniQure

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of QURE. Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in uniQure in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $355,000. CI Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of uniQure in the third quarter worth $2,769,000. Monashee Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of uniQure in the third quarter worth $2,335,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in uniQure by 20.4% during the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 82,856 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,836,000 after buying an additional 14,049 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in uniQure during the third quarter worth about $223,000. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

uniQure Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of -7.68 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 9.98, a current ratio of 9.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.80 and a 200 day moving average of $24.54.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by ($0.53). uniQure had a negative net margin of 1,387.98% and a negative return on equity of 1,010.74%. The business had revenue of $3.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 million. Equities research analysts predict that uniQure N.V. will post -3.75 EPS for the current year.

About uniQure

uniQure N.V. develops treatments for patients suffering from rare and other devastating diseases. It offers HEMGENIX that has completed Phase III HOPE-B pivotal trial for the treatment of hemophilia B. The company also develops AMT-130, a gene therapy that is in Phase I/II clinical study for the treatment of Huntington's disease.