Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK) Shares Down 9% – Here’s Why

Shares of Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STOK) dropped 9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $26.56 and last traded at $26.5860. 613,871 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 762,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on STOK. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Stoke Therapeutics from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Stoke Therapeutics in a report on Friday, August 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush upped their price objective on Stoke Therapeutics from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Stoke Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Stoke Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.25.

Stoke Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.50 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.61.

Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.80) by ($0.13). Stoke Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 753.60% and a negative return on equity of 59.36%. The business had revenue of $9.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 million. Research analysts anticipate that Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Stoke Therapeutics

In other Stoke Therapeutics news, Director Edward Kaye sold 12,567 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.03, for a total value of $402,521.01. Following the transaction, the director owned 124,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,989,560.71. This represents a 9.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Jonathan Allan sold 2,861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.03, for a total value of $91,637.83. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $679,836.75. This trade represents a 11.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,916 shares of company stock worth $1,025,302. 9.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stoke Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Stoke Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $192,307,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stoke Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,358,000. Troluce Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stoke Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $21,255,000. BVF Inc. IL increased its stake in Stoke Therapeutics by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,265,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,912,000 after purchasing an additional 608,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Stoke Therapeutics by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,519,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,152,000 after purchasing an additional 423,601 shares in the last quarter.

About Stoke Therapeutics

Stoke Therapeutics, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing RNA-based medicines for severe genetic diseases. The company’s approach is designed to increase the production of functional proteins by selectively targeting RNA splicing, a process that helps determine how genetic information is translated into proteins.

Stoke’s technology is based on its TANGO platform, which uses antisense oligonucleotides to promote the inclusion of productive genetic sequences in messenger RNA.