JPMorgan Chase & Co. Initiates Coverage on Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK)

Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK) in a note issued to investors on Friday. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 25.23% from the stock’s current price.

STOK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Stoke Therapeutics from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Stoke Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Stoke Therapeutics from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Stoke Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of Stoke Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.25.

Stoke Therapeutics Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ STOK traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.94. 35,385 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 754,671. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.23. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of -9.56 and a beta of 1.20. Stoke Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $18.00 and a 12 month high of $40.22.

Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $9.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Stoke Therapeutics will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Barry Ticho sold 4,767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.03, for a total transaction of $152,687.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,655 shares in the company, valued at $821,729.65. This represents a 15.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.03, for a total value of $91,637.83. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,225 shares in the company, valued at $679,836.75. This represents a 11.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months, insiders have sold 30,623 shares of company stock valued at $953,765. Company insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Stoke Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of STOK. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Stoke Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Stoke Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of Stoke Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stoke Therapeutics by 312.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Stoke Therapeutics by 66.2% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter.

About Stoke Therapeutics

Stoke Therapeutics, headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing genetic medicines to upregulate protein production for the treatment of rare neuromuscular and neurological disorders. Founded in 2014, the company applies its proprietary Targeted Augmentation of Nuclear Gene Output (TANGO™) platform to design antisense oligonucleotides that selectively modulate RNA splicing and enhance expression of functional proteins.

The company’s lead program, STK-001, is an antisense oligonucleotide therapy designed to increase production of the sodium channel protein SCN1A and is currently in clinical development for Dravet syndrome, a severe childhood-onset epilepsy.