uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $23.15, but opened at $27.29. uniQure shares last traded at $26.1250, with a volume of 1,452,736 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on QURE shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of uniQure in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on uniQure from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on uniQure from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on uniQure from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of uniQure in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.82.

uniQure Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of -6.06 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 7.12, a quick ratio of 7.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.35.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.53). uniQure had a negative net margin of 1,492.90% and a negative return on equity of 373.73%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.46 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that uniQure N.V. will post -3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at uniQure

In other news, Director Jack Kaye sold 38,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.34, for a total transaction of $1,177,495.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $620,119.26. The trade was a 65.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Gut sold 31,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.26, for a total transaction of $856,890.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,352.70. The trade was a 43.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 4.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On uniQure

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in QURE. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in uniQure in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,217,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of uniQure by 471.7% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,807,685 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,199,000 after buying an additional 1,491,486 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of uniQure in the third quarter worth about $75,320,000. Sofinnova Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of uniQure by 185.5% in the second quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. now owns 1,558,356 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $21,723,000 after buying an additional 1,012,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of uniQure by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,444,444 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $259,422,000 after buying an additional 819,444 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

About uniQure

uniQure N.V. is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of gene therapies for patients with severe medical needs. Using its proprietary adeno‐associated viral (AAV) vector platform, the company designs single‐dose treatments aimed at addressing the underlying genetic causes of disease rather than solely managing symptoms. Its most advanced program, Hemgenix® (etranacogene dezaparvovec), received regulatory approval in the United States and Europe for adult patients with hemophilia B, marking one of the first gene therapies for a bleeding disorder to reach the market.

Beyond hemophilia B, uniQure’s pipeline includes preclinical and clinical-stage candidates targeting rare and debilitating conditions such as aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, Huntington’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.