Candriam S.C.A. Raises Stock Position in Incyte Co. (NASDAQ:INCY)

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of Incyte Co. (NASDAQ:INCY) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,034,652 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 224,919 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.54% of Incyte worth $71,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of INCY. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in Incyte during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Incyte by 144.7% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 389 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Incyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Incyte during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Incyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 96.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Incyte Price Performance

Incyte stock opened at $69.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a PE ratio of 258.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.76. Incyte Co. has a 52-week low of $50.35 and a 52-week high of $83.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $71.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.07.

Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.48). Incyte had a return on equity of 0.05% and a net margin of 0.77%. On average, research analysts expect that Incyte Co. will post 4.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on INCY shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Incyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Incyte from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Incyte in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Incyte in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Incyte from $97.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Incyte presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Incyte

In related news, EVP Sheila A. Denton sold 14,069 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.07, for a total value of $1,042,090.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,914,561.36. This trade represents a 35.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas Tray sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.31, for a total transaction of $45,051.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,312 shares in the company, valued at $1,615,754.72. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,721 shares of company stock valued at $2,030,925. Insiders own 17.60% of the company’s stock.

About Incyte

Incyte Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for hematology/oncology, and inflammation and autoimmunity areas in the United States and internationally. The company offers JAKAFI (ruxolitinib) for treatment of intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera, and steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease; MONJUVI (tafasitamab-cxix)/MINJUVI (tafasitamab) for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; PEMAZYRE (pemigatinib), a fibroblast growth factor receptor kinase inhibitor that act as oncogenic drivers in liquid and solid tumor types; ICLUSIG (ponatinib) to treat chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia; and ZYNYZ (retifanlimab-dlwr) to treat adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced Merkel cell carcinoma, as well as OPZELURA cream for treatment of atopic dermatitis.