uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Trading 4.7% Higher – Should You Buy?

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE)’s share price rose 4.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $10.23 and last traded at $10.38. Approximately 137,645 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 1,650,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QURE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of uniQure from $26.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Chardan Capital assumed coverage on shares of uniQure in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of uniQure in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James upgraded uniQure from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $20.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on uniQure from $12.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, uniQure presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

uniQure Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $577.27 million, a PE ratio of -2.16 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 6.51 and a quick ratio of 6.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 28,341 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.29, for a total transaction of $291,628.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 651,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,703,461.66. This represents a 4.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christian Klemt sold 14,341 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.70, for a total transaction of $153,448.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 152,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,630,380.40. This represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 90,830 shares of company stock valued at $961,401. Insiders own 4.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of uniQure

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in uniQure in the fourth quarter valued at $38,410,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of uniQure by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,987,688 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,103,000 after purchasing an additional 494,726 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of uniQure by 81.3% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,771,352 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,282,000 after purchasing an additional 794,459 shares in the last quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of uniQure by 175.0% during the 4th quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 1,100,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $19,426,000 after purchasing an additional 700,000 shares during the period. Finally, RTW Investments LP increased its position in uniQure by 8,936.3% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 903,625 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,958,000 after purchasing an additional 893,625 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.