uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $25.48, but opened at $21.25. uniQure shares last traded at $22.6410, with a volume of 4,031,125 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of uniQure in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on uniQure from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on uniQure from $30.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of uniQure in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on uniQure from $56.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.42.

uniQure Trading Down 6.2%

The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 7.12 and a current ratio of 7.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $44.57 and its 200 day moving average is $26.10.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.53). The company had revenue of $3.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.46 million. uniQure had a negative net margin of 1,492.90% and a negative return on equity of 373.73%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that uniQure N.V. will post -3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Gut sold 31,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.26, for a total value of $856,890.84. Following the sale, the director owned 40,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,094,352.70. This represents a 43.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Christian Klemt sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $825,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 217,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,975,150. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,560 shares of company stock worth $12,362,568. 4.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of uniQure

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in uniQure in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,217,000. Vestal Point Capital LP lifted its position in shares of uniQure by 58.4% during the first quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 4,792,572 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $50,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,767,572 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of uniQure by 471.7% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,807,685 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491,486 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new position in shares of uniQure in the third quarter worth about $75,320,000. Finally, Sofinnova Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of uniQure by 185.5% in the second quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. now owns 1,558,356 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $21,723,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,585 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.