Short Interest in uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Declines By 23.8%

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,440,000 shares, a drop of 23.8% from the January 31st total of 3,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of uniQure from $28.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of uniQure in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James raised shares of uniQure from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of uniQure from $26.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on uniQure from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.89.

uniQure Stock Performance

Shares of QURE stock opened at $12.09 on Thursday. uniQure has a 1 year low of $3.73 and a 1 year high of $19.18. 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 firm has a market cap of $589.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.91.

Insider Activity

In other uniQure news, CFO Christian Klemt sold 14,341 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.70, for a total value of $153,448.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 152,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,630,380.40. This trade represents a 8.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 3,418 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 597,915 shares in the company, valued at $4,562,091.45. This represents a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 96,044 shares of company stock valued at $1,001,040. 4.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of uniQure in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,410,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in uniQure by 33.1% during 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. grew its position in uniQure by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,771,352 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,282,000 after purchasing an additional 794,459 shares during the last quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC increased its stake in uniQure by 175.0% in the fourth quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 1,100,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $19,426,000 after purchasing an additional 700,000 shares during the period. Finally, RTW Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of uniQure by 8,936.3% in the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 903,625 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,958,000 after buying an additional 893,625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

uniQure Company Profile

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.