Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore began coverage on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim cut shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, March 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Benitec Biopharma Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ BNTC opened at $11.18 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.85. The stock has a market cap of $384.03 million, a P/E ratio of -9.81 and a beta of 0.27. Benitec Biopharma has a 12-month low of $9.85 and a 12-month high of $17.10.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.03. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Benitec Biopharma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BNTC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the first quarter worth $597,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 worth $4,859,000 after acquiring an additional 181,391 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the second quarter worth $80,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 11,114.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,858 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 20,672 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the second quarter worth $127,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.