The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stock Position in Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. $STOK

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STOK) by 410.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,222 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,672 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Stoke Therapeutics were worth $2,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of STOK. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Stoke Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $2,000,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Stoke Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,837,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Stoke Therapeutics by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 989,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,229,000 after acquiring an additional 162,797 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Stoke Therapeutics by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 502,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,346,000 after acquiring an additional 55,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Privium Fund Management B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Stoke Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,746,000.

Key Headlines Impacting Stoke Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Stoke Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price target on STOK to $40 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, signaling confidence in the company’s pipeline and potential upside. Wedbush raises Stoke Therapeutics price target
• Positive Sentiment: Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on Stoke Therapeutics, adding to the favorable analyst sentiment surrounding the biotechnology company. Chardan Capital buy rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity remained constructive on the shares but issued a more cautious price outlook, reflecting a mixed analyst view despite continued confidence in Stoke’s long-term prospects. Canaccord Genuity forecast for Stoke Therapeutics
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut its projected EPS for fiscal 2026 to a loss of $3.35 from $3.09, fiscal 2027 to a loss of $2.55 from $2.05, and fiscal 2028 to a loss of $1.78 from $0.67. It also reduced quarterly estimates to losses of $0.81 per share, indicating expectations for higher or more prolonged expenses. HC Wainwright earnings forecast for Stoke Therapeutics
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright’s broader outlook remains bearish for later years, with its FY2029 EPS forecast reportedly reduced to $1.55 from $1.63. The revisions highlight execution and commercialization risks for Stoke’s pipeline. HC Wainwright FY2029 forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Director Barry Ticho sold 7,176 shares worth approximately $208,000, reducing his direct holdings by 26%. Because the sale occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, its negative signaling value is limited, but it may still weigh modestly on sentiment. SEC insider sale filing

Insider Buying and Selling at Stoke Therapeutics

In related news, General Counsel Jonathan Allan sold 1,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.95, for a total value of $43,637.15. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 18,086 shares in the company, valued at $541,675.70. The trade was a 7.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Barry Ticho sold 7,176 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.04, for a total transaction of $208,391.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,422 shares in the company, valued at $593,054.88. This trade represents a 26.00% 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. Insiders have sold 10,428 shares of company stock valued at $306,919 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Stoke Therapeutics Stock Up 2.4%

Stoke Therapeutics stock opened at $32.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.79 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $30.45 and its 200 day moving average is $32.05. Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $12.86 and a twelve month high of $40.22.

Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.80) by ($0.13). Stoke Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 753.60% and a negative return on equity of 59.36%. The company had revenue of $9.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on STOK. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Stoke Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Stoke Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Stoke Therapeutics in a report on Monday, May 11th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Stoke Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Stoke Therapeutics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Stoke Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

About Stoke Therapeutics

Stoke Therapeutics, headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing genetic medicines to upregulate protein production for the treatment of rare neuromuscular and neurological disorders. Founded in 2014, the company applies its proprietary Targeted Augmentation of Nuclear Gene Output (TANGO™) platform to design antisense oligonucleotides that selectively modulate RNA splicing and enhance expression of functional proteins.

The company’s lead program, STK-001, is an antisense oligonucleotide therapy designed to increase production of the sodium channel protein SCN1A and is currently in clinical development for Dravet syndrome, a severe childhood-onset epilepsy.