Galapagos (NASDAQ:GLPG) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 134,769 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the previous session’s volume of 140,654 shares.The stock last traded at $28.3350 and had previously closed at $28.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GLPG. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Galapagos from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Galapagos in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Galapagos in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Galapagos from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Galapagos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Galapagos currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Galapagos Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.35 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.87.

Galapagos (NASDAQ:GLPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported $13.92 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Galapagos NV will post -6.97 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Galapagos

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Galapagos in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Galapagos by 61.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,968 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners lifted its holdings in Galapagos by 319.2% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 2,335 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 1,778 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Galapagos in the third quarter valued at $134,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Galapagos in the third quarter valued at $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.46% of the company’s stock.

About Galapagos

Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Mechelen, Belgium, focused on the discovery and development of novel small-molecule therapies. Established in 1999 through the merger of Tibotec and Progenix, Galapagos has built a research platform targeting chronic inflammatory diseases, fibrosis and oncology. The company’s discovery engine integrates human genetics, translational biology and medicinal chemistry to identify and optimize drug candidates with unique modes of action.

The company’s pipeline encompasses multiple programs across various stages of development.