Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) Shares Pass Above Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ABEO) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.98 and traded as high as $5.51. Abeona Therapeutics shares last traded at $5.45, with a volume of 1,614,321 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ABEO. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Abeona Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Abeona Therapeutics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Abeona Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Abeona Therapeutics Stock Down 3.7%

The company has a current ratio of 9.74, a quick ratio of 9.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.50 million, a PE ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 1.12.

Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.17. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abeona Therapeutics Inc. will post -1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Alvino sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.74, for a total transaction of $71,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 62,252 shares in the company, valued at $295,074.48. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Vishwas Seshadri sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total value of $132,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,164,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,185,183.58. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 6.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abeona Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABEO. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Abeona Therapeutics by 19.6% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 25,176 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,127 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Abeona Therapeutics by 43.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,310 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 4,305 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abeona Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Abeona Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Abeona Therapeutics by 45.6% during the third quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 15,857 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 4,963 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Abeona Therapeutics

Abeona Therapeutics is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of gene and cell therapies for severe, life‐threatening rare diseases and oncology indications. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Abeona leverages proprietary viral and non‐viral delivery platforms to correct or compensate for underlying genetic deficiencies. The company’s research efforts target pediatric neurodegenerative disorders as well as debilitating dermatologic conditions with high unmet medical need.

The company’s lead clinical programs include separate AAV‐based gene therapies for CLN1 and CLN3 forms of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, alongside an ex vivo autologous cell therapy for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.