Joseph Walter Vazzano Sells 10,271 Shares of Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) Stock

Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ABEO) CFO Joseph Walter Vazzano sold 10,271 shares of Abeona Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.43, for a total transaction of $55,771.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 557,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,027,246.72. This represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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.

Joseph Walter Vazzano also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, June 9th, Joseph Walter Vazzano sold 39,067 shares of Abeona Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.36, for a total transaction of $209,399.12.

Abeona Therapeutics Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of ABEO opened at $5.36 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $5.40 and its 200 day moving average is $5.17. Abeona Therapeutics Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.00 and a fifty-two week high of $7.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.49 million, a PE ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 1.35. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $8.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.57 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Abeona Therapeutics Inc. will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on ABEO shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Abeona Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Abeona Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Abeona Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Abeona Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abeona Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Abeona Therapeutics News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Abeona Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Abeona’s last quarterly report beat expectations, with EPS of -$0.30 versus -$0.33 expected and revenue of $8.72 million versus $4.57 million forecast, supporting the longer-term bullish thesis.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain generally constructive, with an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $19.00, well above the current share price.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company updated its investor presentation under Regulation FD, which appears to be a routine communications update rather than a major business catalyst. Article: Abeona Therapeutics Updates Investor Presentation Under Regulation FD
• Neutral Sentiment: Abeona continues to show strong liquidity and low leverage, which gives it financial flexibility while it advances its gene- and cell-therapy pipeline.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Vishwas Seshadri sold shares in multiple transactions, and CFO Joseph Walter Vazzano also sold shares, adding to investor concern about insider confidence, even though the company said the sales were tied to tax withholding and equity vesting.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional selling from insiders Madhav Vasanthavada and Brendan M. O’Malley reinforces the near-term overhang from insider distribution.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abeona Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABEO. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abeona Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $10,540,000. Tang Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Abeona Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $5,270,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Abeona Therapeutics by 129.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,105,862 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,282,000 after purchasing an additional 623,243 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc bought a new position in Abeona Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $3,248,000. Finally, Cable Car Capital LP bought a new position in Abeona Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $3,168,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Abeona Therapeutics Company Profile

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.