Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) Cut to Strong Sell at Wall Street Zen

Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on ABEO. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Abeona Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Abeona Therapeutics from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abeona Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Abeona Therapeutics Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of ABEO stock opened at $7.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $398.93 million, a PE ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 1.34. Abeona Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $4.00 and a 52-week high of $7.54. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.91 and its 200 day moving average is $5.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 5.70 and a current ratio of 5.89.

Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.57 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Abeona Therapeutics will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abeona Therapeutics news, CFO Joseph Walter Vazzano sold 39,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total transaction of $209,399.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 518,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,778,822.32. This trade represents a 7.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Vishwas Seshadri sold 67,971 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total value of $473,078.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,306,108 shares in the company, valued at $9,090,511.68. The trade was a 4.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 311,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,877,908 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abeona Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ABEO. Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new stake in Abeona Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,248,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abeona Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,540,000. Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Abeona Therapeutics by 70.6% during the fourth quarter. Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. now owns 956,770 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,042,000 after acquiring an additional 396,000 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abeona Therapeutics by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 161,082 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $722,000 after acquiring an additional 44,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Abeona Therapeutics by 142.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 172,460 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 101,307 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Abeona Therapeutics

Abeona Therapeutics is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of gene and cell therapies for severe, life‐threatening rare diseases and oncology indications. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Abeona leverages proprietary viral and non‐viral delivery platforms to correct or compensate for underlying genetic deficiencies. The company’s research efforts target pediatric neurodegenerative disorders as well as debilitating dermatologic conditions with high unmet medical need.

The company’s lead clinical programs include separate AAV‐based gene therapies for CLN1 and CLN3 forms of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, alongside an ex vivo autologous cell therapy for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.