Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK) Trading 6.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STOK) were up 6.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $31.50 and last traded at $31.2330. Approximately 208,895 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 750,139 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on STOK. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Stoke Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Chardan Capital raised their price target on Stoke Therapeutics from $24.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Stoke Therapeutics from $22.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Stoke Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Stoke Therapeutics from $35.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.10.

Stoke Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 45.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Stoke Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STOK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.65) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.54) by ($0.11). Stoke Therapeutics had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $10.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Barry Ticho sold 3,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.34, for a total value of $114,767.08. Following the sale, the insider owned 19,798 shares in the company, valued at $620,469.32. This represents a 15.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan Allan sold 3,978 shares of Stoke Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.28, for a total value of $128,409.84. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 11,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $381,904.68. This represents a 25.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 104,705 shares of company stock valued at $3,070,910. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stoke Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stoke Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $41,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Stoke Therapeutics by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Stoke Therapeutics by 66.2% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Stoke Therapeutics by 461.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Stoke Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $150,000.

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.