uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $39.11, but opened at $23.85. uniQure shares last traded at $25.3910, with a volume of 14,515,948 shares traded.

uniQure News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting uniQure this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AMT-130 continued to show evidence of slowing disease progression. In the 36-month analysis, high-dose patients showed an 80% slowing on cUHDRS and a 67% slowing on Total Functional Capacity (TFC), while the 48-month analysis showed a 61% slowing on TFC. uniQure Announces Additional Data from Ongoing Phase I/II Studies
• Positive Sentiment: uniQure said the treatment effect appeared dose-dependent and that the FDA had previously accepted 36-month data as the basis for its submitted Biologics License Application under the accelerated-approval pathway. The company continues to argue that AMT-130 has a viable route to approval. UniQure Insists Huntington’s Drug Is Still on Track
• Neutral Sentiment: The therapy was generally well tolerated, with administration-related adverse events resolving. However, five high-dose patients experienced treatment-related serious adverse events involving central nervous system inflammation, all of which resolved; one suicide in a low-dose patient was judged unrelated to treatment. UniQure’s Huntington’s therapy fails significantly to slow disease progression
• Negative Sentiment: The key 48-month cUHDRS endpoint showed a 44% slowing of progression but was not statistically significant (p=0.144). Investors viewed this as a major setback because the result weakens confidence in the durability and reliability of AMT-130’s benefit. Why is uniQure Stock Down
• Negative Sentiment: The four-year dataset was affected by substantial missing data and possible survivor bias in the external control group. Although a post-hoc analysis produced stronger results, those analyses are less persuasive than the prespecified endpoint, increasing regulatory and execution risk. UniQure Huntington’s Treatment Benefit Is Less After Four Years

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on QURE. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of uniQure from $36.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of uniQure from $35.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on uniQure from $14.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. William Blair raised uniQure to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on uniQure from $35.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, uniQure has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.55.

uniQure Stock Down 39.1%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $44.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.91 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 10.01 and a quick ratio of 10.01.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.22) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.82) by ($0.40). uniQure had a negative net margin of 1,350.73% and a negative return on equity of 111.96%. The firm had revenue of $5.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.69) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that uniQure N.V. will post -3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other uniQure news, CEO Matthew Kapusta sold 21,082 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.16, for a total transaction of $952,063.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 519,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,448,291.32. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 4.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of uniQure

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in uniQure by 39.8% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,780 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of uniQure in the 2nd quarter worth about $390,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in uniQure by 17.7% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,940 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC bought a new position in uniQure during the second quarter valued at about $279,000. Finally, Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in uniQure during the second quarter worth about $15,254. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

uniQure Company Profile

uniQure N.V. is a biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for serious and life-threatening diseases. The company uses adeno-associated virus (AAV) technology to deliver genetic material intended to address the underlying causes of disease, with research activities spanning neurological, neuromuscular, metabolic and cardiovascular conditions.

uniQure’s pipeline has included AMT-130, an investigational gene therapy for Huntington’s disease, as well as programs targeting other conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Fabry disease.