Citizens Jmp Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Stock

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Citizens Jmp from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market outperform” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Citizens Jmp’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 39.42% from the stock’s previous close.

BNTC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Benitec Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research cut Benitec Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.83.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BNTC opened at $15.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $414.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.73 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 54.67 and a quick ratio of 54.67. Benitec Biopharma has a fifty-two week low of $9.10 and a fifty-two week high of $17.15.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.18). As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Benitec Biopharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BNTC. Infinitum Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 435.7% in the first quarter. Infinitum Asset Management LLC now owns 1,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,636,000 after buying an additional 915,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 77.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 415,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,859,000 after buying an additional 181,391 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 219.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 109,925 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,286,000 after buying an additional 75,507 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the first quarter valued at $597,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the second quarter valued at $503,000. 52.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Benitec Biopharma

Benitec Biopharma Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development of novel genetic medicines. The company develops DNA-directed RNA interference-based therapeutics for chronic and life-threatening human conditions. It is developing BB-301, an adeno-associated virus based gene therapy agent for treating oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.