uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $17.43, but opened at $17.88. uniQure shares last traded at $16.88, with a volume of 148,236 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on QURE shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of uniQure from $7.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on shares of uniQure from $26.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James raised uniQure from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on uniQure from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised uniQure from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.88.

uniQure Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 6.51 and a quick ratio of 6.51. The company has a market capitalization of $843.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.49 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.86.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.91) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.21. uniQure had a negative return on equity of 188.82% and a negative net margin of 837.80%. The company had revenue of $2.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 million. Sell-side analysts predict that uniQure will post -3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at uniQure

In other uniQure news, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 3,418 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 597,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,562,091.45. This represents a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.74% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On uniQure

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RTW Investments LP purchased a new stake in uniQure during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of uniQure by 57.0% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,093 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 3,663 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in shares of uniQure during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in uniQure during the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in uniQure by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 13,301 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,306 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.