Benitec Biopharma's (BNTC) "Buy" Rating Reaffirmed at HC Wainwright

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $32.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. HC Wainwright's price objective points to a potential upside of 147.49% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Benitec Biopharma from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.67.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Benitec Biopharma

Benitec Biopharma Stock Up 14.0%

Shares of NASDAQ BNTC traded up $1.59 during trading on Monday, reaching $12.93. 188,695 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 154,146. The company has a market capitalization of $444.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.34 and a beta of 0.31. The business's 50-day moving average price is $11.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.05. Benitec Biopharma has a twelve month low of $9.85 and a twelve month high of $17.15.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.03). As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L bought 77,387 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.44 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,081.28. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,700,195 shares in the company, valued at $130,370,620.80. The trade was a 0.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 190,364 shares of company stock worth $2,442,105. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Benitec Biopharma

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RA Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Benitec Biopharma during the fourth quarter valued at $24,920,000. Suvretta Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 11,548,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $155,556,000 after buying an additional 1,671,845 shares during the period. Siren L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,439,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,102,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Benitec Biopharma during the fourth quarter worth about $8,776,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.19% of the company's stock.

Benitec Biopharma Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Benitec Biopharma Ltd NASDAQ: BNTC is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing gene-silencing therapies for serious human diseases. The company's proprietary DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi) platform is designed to enable sustained expression of small RNA molecules that specifically target and silence disease-causing genes. By integrating RNAi sequences directly into DNA constructs, ddRNAi aims to provide a long-term therapeutic effect from a single administration.

Benitec's lead programs include development of ddRNAi candidates for chronic hepatitis B virus infection and for certain ocular conditions.

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