uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Leerink Partners Analyst Says

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) had its price objective upped by Leerink Partners from $26.00 to $44.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Leerink Partners’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 176.56% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on QURE. StockNews.com raised uniQure to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on uniQure from $28.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on uniQure from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on uniQure from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of uniQure in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.57.

uniQure Price Performance

Shares of QURE traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $15.91. 3,570,951 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,626,701. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $6.42 and a 200-day moving average of $6.15. uniQure has a one year low of $3.73 and a one year high of $17.39. The firm has a market cap of $775.45 million, a P/E ratio of -3.18 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 6.51 and a quick ratio of 6.51.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.91) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.21. uniQure had a negative return on equity of 188.82% and a negative net margin of 837.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that uniQure will post -3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 3,418 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.63, for a total transaction of $26,079.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 597,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,562,091.45. This represents a 0.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of uniQure

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RTW Investments LP purchased a new position in uniQure during the third quarter valued at $49,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of uniQure by 57.0% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,093 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 3,663 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in shares of uniQure in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in uniQure in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in uniQure by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 13,301 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,306 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

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.