Irenic Capital Management LP Makes New $1.64 Million Investment in uniQure N.V. $QURE

Irenic Capital Management LP bought a new position in uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 100,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,635,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in QURE. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of uniQure by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,231,043 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787,033 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in uniQure by 155.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,934,626 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785,275 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of uniQure by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,150,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $147,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705,556 shares during the period. Orbimed Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of uniQure by 189.7% during the first quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 2,136,149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,926,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,749 shares during the period. Finally, MPM Bioimpact LLC bought a new position in shares of uniQure during the 4th quarter worth about $33,062,000. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jack Kaye sold 21,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.44, for a total transaction of $982,995.48. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,254.24. This trade represents a 44.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Walid Abi-Saab sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.06, for a total transaction of $1,127,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,905.14. This trade represents a 20.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 433,229 shares of company stock worth $17,944,799. Company insiders own 4.65% of the company’s stock.

uniQure Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:QURE opened at $36.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.53 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 10.40, a current ratio of 10.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. uniQure N.V. has a 12-month low of $8.73 and a 12-month high of $71.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $36.44 and its 200 day moving average is $25.89.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 million. uniQure had a negative return on equity of 145.81% and a negative net margin of 1,154.42%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that uniQure N.V. will post -3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on QURE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of uniQure in a research note on Friday, June 26th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on uniQure from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on uniQure from $35.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $28.00 price objective on uniQure in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays raised uniQure from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.17.

About uniQure

uniQure N.V. is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of gene therapies for patients with severe medical needs. Using its proprietary adeno‐associated viral (AAV) vector platform, the company designs single‐dose treatments aimed at addressing the underlying genetic causes of disease rather than solely managing symptoms. Its most advanced program, Hemgenix® (etranacogene dezaparvovec), received regulatory approval in the United States and Europe for adult patients with hemophilia B, marking one of the first gene therapies for a bleeding disorder to reach the market.

Beyond hemophilia B, uniQure’s pipeline includes preclinical and clinical-stage candidates targeting rare and debilitating conditions such as aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, Huntington’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.