Galapagos (NASDAQ:GLPG) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $25.44, but opened at $26.79. Galapagos shares last traded at $26.90, with a volume of 67,197 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GLPG shares. Morgan Stanley lowered Galapagos from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded shares of Galapagos from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Galapagos from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Galapagos in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Galapagos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.75.

Galapagos Trading Up 0.1 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.42 and its 200-day moving average is $27.04.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Galapagos

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gilead Sciences Inc. purchased a new position in Galapagos during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $461,727,000. Tang Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Galapagos by 208.7% during the 4th quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 2,161,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,200 shares during the period. Deep Track Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Galapagos during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,471,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Galapagos in the 4th quarter valued at $3,300,000. Finally, Finepoint Capital LP boosted its holdings in Galapagos by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Finepoint Capital LP now owns 674,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,556,000 after buying an additional 117,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.46% of the company’s stock.

Galapagos Company Profile

Galapagos NV, a biotechnology company, develops medicines focusing on oncology and immunology primarily in the United States and Europe. The company's pipeline products comprise GLPG3667 that has completed phase 1b trial; GLPG5101, a CD19 CAR-T product candidate manufactured at point-of-care, currently in Phase1/2 trial in relapsed/refractory non-hodgkin lymphoma; GLPG5201, a CD19 CAR-T product candidates manufactured at point-of-care, currently in phase 1/2 trial in replapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia; and GLPG5301, a BCMA CAR-T product candidate manufactured at point-of-care, currently in phase 1/2 in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.