Morphic Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Morphic Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORF) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $54.25.

Several research firms have commented on MORF. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morphic in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Morphic in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $57.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of Morphic in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Morphic from $30.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd.

Morphic Stock Performance

MORF opened at $56.99 on Wednesday. Morphic has a 1-year low of $19.34 and a 1-year high of $57.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.78 and a 200-day moving average of $38.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.28 and a beta of 1.49.

Morphic (NASDAQ:MORF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported ($1.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.96) by ($0.19). Equities analysts predict that Morphic will post -4.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morphic

In related news, CAO Robert E. Farrell, Jr. sold 30,272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total transaction of $1,689,177.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,979.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel William Devaul sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.79, for a total transaction of $557,900.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 23,029 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,787.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert E. Farrell, Jr. sold 30,272 shares of Morphic stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.80, for a total value of $1,689,177.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,979.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 125,790 shares of company stock valued at $7,018,566. 25.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morphic

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Morphic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $271,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Morphic by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 16,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Morphic by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Morphic by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,226,000 after acquiring an additional 15,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Morphic in the fourth quarter worth about $314,000. 94.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morphic Company Profile

Morphic Holding, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers and develops oral small-molecule integrin therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases, as well as fibrosis and cancer. Its lead product candidate MORF-057, an a4ß7-specific integrin inhibitor affecting inflammation is in Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.