Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STOK) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 2,749,716 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 240% from the previous session’s volume of 809,847 shares.The stock last traded at $34.0970 and had previously closed at $33.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on STOK shares. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Stoke Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Stoke Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Stoke Therapeutics from $36.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Loop Capital set a $35.00 price target on Stoke Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Stoke Therapeutics from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stoke Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.83.

Stoke Therapeutics Stock Down 0.6%

The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -279.56 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $32.78 and its 200 day moving average is $30.37.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Barry Ticho sold 6,686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.34, for a total value of $209,539.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 40,798 shares in the company, valued at $1,278,609.32. This represents a 14.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Jonathan Allan sold 4,628 shares of Stoke Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.34, for a total value of $145,041.52. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 28,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $903,720.24. The trade was a 13.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 69,699 shares of company stock worth $2,526,714 in the last quarter. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stoke Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Stoke Therapeutics by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 259,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,238,000 after purchasing an additional 51,468 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Stoke Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $330,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Stoke Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $613,000. Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Stoke Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $922,000. Finally, RTW Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Stoke Therapeutics by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,546,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,057,000 after acquiring an additional 423,331 shares during the last quarter.

Stoke Therapeutics Company Profile

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.