uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $9.00 to $20.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. 864,983 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the previous session’s volume of 1,614,249 shares.The stock last traded at $15.07 and had previously closed at $15.30.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Leerink Partners increased their target price on uniQure from $26.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of uniQure from $28.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on uniQure from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised uniQure to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised uniQure from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at uniQure

In other news, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 3,418 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.63, for a total transaction of $26,079.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 597,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,562,091.45. The trade was a 0.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On uniQure

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of uniQure by 11.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,072,536 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,577,000 after acquiring an additional 109,740 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of uniQure in the 2nd quarter valued at about $79,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of uniQure in the 2nd quarter valued at about $815,000. Privium Fund Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of uniQure by 10.6% in the second quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 640,416 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after buying an additional 61,501 shares during the period. Finally, Doheny Asset Management CA bought a new position in shares of uniQure during the second quarter worth about $1,220,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

uniQure Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.85 and a 200 day moving average of $6.28. The company has a market capitalization of $734.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.04 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 6.51, a current ratio of 6.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.91) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.21. uniQure had a negative net margin of 837.80% and a negative return on equity of 188.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 million. As a group, analysts predict that uniQure will post -3.74 EPS for the current year.

uniQure Company Profile

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.