uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE) gapped down before the market opened on Monday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $27.79, but opened at $26.50. uniQure shares last traded at $26.7520, with a volume of 901,873 shares.

The biotechnology company reported ($1.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by ($0.51). uniQure had a negative return on equity of 1,010.74% and a negative net margin of 1,387.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QURE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair downgraded uniQure from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on uniQure from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on uniQure from $30.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Chardan Capital lowered their target price on uniQure from $76.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on shares of uniQure from $110.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Christian Klemt sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $825,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 217,730 shares in the company, valued at $11,975,150. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack Kaye sold 38,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.34, for a total value of $1,177,495.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $620,119.26. The trade was a 65.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 283,126 shares of company stock valued at $11,505,677. Insiders own 4.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On uniQure

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in QURE. Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in shares of uniQure by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,750,714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,345,000 after purchasing an additional 535,163 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of uniQure during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,952,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in uniQure in the 2nd quarter valued at $872,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in uniQure during the 1st quarter valued at $2,562,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in shares of uniQure during the 1st quarter worth about $152,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

uniQure Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $42.07 and its 200 day moving average is $24.30. The company has a current ratio of 9.98, a quick ratio of 9.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.64 and a beta of 0.59.

About uniQure

uniQure N.V. develops treatments for patients suffering from rare and other devastating diseases. It offers HEMGENIX that has completed Phase III HOPE-B pivotal trial for the treatment of hemophilia B. The company also develops AMT-130, a gene therapy that is in Phase I/II clinical study for the treatment of Huntington's disease.