uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) saw a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,390,000 shares, a drop of 21.2% from the December 15th total of 4,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on QURE shares. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of uniQure in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on uniQure from $26.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James upgraded uniQure from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded uniQure from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of uniQure from $9.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.88.

uniQure Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QURE traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $14.05. 994,420 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,365,092. The company has a market cap of $684.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.83 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.28. uniQure has a 52 week low of $3.73 and a 52 week high of $19.18. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.91) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 million. uniQure had a negative net margin of 837.80% and a negative return on equity of 188.82%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that uniQure will post -3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at uniQure

In other news, CEO Matthew C. Kapusta sold 3,418 shares of uniQure stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.63, for a total value of $26,079.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 597,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,562,091.45. The trade was a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On uniQure

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 3,663 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in uniQure during the fourth quarter worth about $88,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in uniQure by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 508,602 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,509,000 after acquiring an additional 6,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in uniQure by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 8,642 shares during the last quarter. 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.