Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.6667.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BNTC shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Monday, March 9th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Benitec Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Performance

Shares of BNTC stock opened at $10.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $367.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.39 and a beta of 0.31. Benitec Biopharma has a one year low of $9.85 and a one year high of $17.15. The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.57 and its 200 day moving average is $12.92.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last issued its 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, research analysts predict that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Benitec Biopharma news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L acquired 77,387 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.44 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,081.28. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,700,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,370,620.80. This represents 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 hyperlink. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Benitec Biopharma

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BNTC. Suvretta Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 11,548,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $155,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,671,845 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Benitec Biopharma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $424,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Benitec Biopharma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,259,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Benitec Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,776,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 262,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.19% of the company’s stock.

Benitec Biopharma Company Profile

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.