Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on ABEO. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Abeona Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Abeona Therapeutics from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abeona Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.00.

Abeona Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of ABEO opened at $7.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.89, a quick ratio of 5.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Abeona Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $4.00 and a 12-month high of $7.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $398.93 million, a P/E ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 1.34.

Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.57 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abeona Therapeutics will post -0.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Abeona Therapeutics

In other Abeona Therapeutics news, CFO Joseph Walter Vazzano sold 24,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total value of $173,164.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 493,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,435,156.72. This represents a 4.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Brendan M. O’malley sold 12,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total transaction of $83,868.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 427,953 shares in the company, valued at $2,978,552.88. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 311,291 shares of company stock worth $1,877,908 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abeona Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABEO. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Abeona Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Abeona Therapeutics by 49.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Abeona Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in Abeona Therapeutics by 191.4% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 10,307 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 6,770 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Abeona Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 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.