Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ: STOK) has received an optimistic outlook from analysts at Wedbush, who raised the company’s target price from $32.00 to $36.00. This new target, announced in a report on December 15, 2023, reflects a potential upside of approximately 9.59% from the stock’s current trading price. The brokerage has assigned an “outperform” rating to Stoke Therapeutics, indicating confidence in the company’s future performance.
Recent assessments from other financial analysts show a similar trend of optimism. On the same day, UBS Group set a target price of $50.00 for the company. Additionally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective to $35.00 from a previous $22.00, also giving Stoke a “buy” rating.
HC Wainwright raised its target price to $50.00 as well, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its target from $15.00 to $25.00, assigning a “neutral” rating. Weiss Ratings has maintained a “hold (c-)” rating for the stock. The consensus across these evaluations suggests a “Moderate Buy” rating, with a consensus price target of $37.10, according to MarketBeat.
Recent Earnings Report and Insider Activity
Stoke Therapeutics recently disclosed its quarterly earnings on November 4, 2023, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.65). This result fell short of the consensus estimate of ($0.54) by ($0.11). Despite this miss, the company generated revenue of $10.63 million, exceeding analyst expectations of $6.06 million.
In terms of financial health, Stoke Therapeutics has a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 13.28%. Analysts project that the company will report an EPS of ($2.01) for the current fiscal year.
Insider trading activity has also drawn attention. General Counsel Jonathan Allan sold 8,785 shares on December 5, 2023, at an average price of $31.29, totaling approximately $274,882.65. Following this transaction, Allan owned 15,809 shares, valued at around $494,663.61, marking a 35.72% reduction in his ownership.
Similarly, Director Adrian R. Krainer sold 40,472 shares on November 14, 2023, for about $1,091,934.56. After this sale, Krainer retained 364,246 shares valued at approximately $9,827,357.08, representing a 10.00% decrease in ownership. Over the last quarter, insiders sold a total of 104,705 shares worth over $3 million.
Institutional Investment Trends
In recent months, significant institutional investment has been noted. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Stoke Therapeutics during the second quarter, valued at around $7.49 million. Wellington Management Group LLP significantly increased its holdings by 438.2% in the third quarter, now owning 737,753 shares valued at $17.34 million after purchasing an additional 600,687 shares.
Polar Capital Holdings Plc also raised its stake by 49.8%, now holding 1,323,470 shares valued at $31.1 million, while Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings by 67.3%, acquiring 900,272 shares worth about $21.16 million. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. also augmented its position by 21.4%, owning 1,662,039 shares valued at around $11.05 million.
Stoke Therapeutics, based in Bedford, Massachusetts, focuses on developing genetic medicines aimed at treating rare neuromuscular and neurological disorders. Founded in 2014, the company utilizes its proprietary Targeted Augmentation of Nuclear Gene Output (TANGO™) platform to create antisense oligonucleotides that modulate RNA splicing and enhance functional protein expression. Its lead program, STK-001, is currently in clinical development for Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy that begins in childhood.
As Stoke Therapeutics navigates its ongoing clinical trials and financial landscape, market analysts remain keenly interested in how these developments will impact the company’s stock performance moving forward.
