Franklin Resources Inc. Makes New $7.36 Million Investment in uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE)

Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,492,962 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,360,000. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 3.06% of uniQure at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in uniQure during the second quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Privium Fund Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of uniQure by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 640,416 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after acquiring an additional 61,501 shares during the period. Doheny Asset Management CA purchased a new position in shares of uniQure in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,220,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of uniQure by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 8,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in uniQure during the second quarter valued at about $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at uniQure

In other news, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 3,418 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.63, for a total value of $26,079.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 597,915 shares in the company, valued at $4,562,091.45. This represents a 0.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on QURE shares. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of uniQure from $26.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of uniQure from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of uniQure from $9.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James upgraded uniQure from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of uniQure in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.88.

uniQure Stock Up 9.8 %

Shares of QURE stock opened at $16.98 on Monday. uniQure has a fifty-two week low of $3.73 and a fifty-two week high of $17.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $827.66 million, a PE ratio of -3.42 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 6.51 and a current ratio of 6.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.78.

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.91) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.73 million. Equities analysts expect that uniQure will post -3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

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.