Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Stock Price Passes Above Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC)’s stock price passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.93 and traded as high as $13.37. Benitec Biopharma shares last traded at $12.98, with a volume of 65,265 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on BNTC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Benitec Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Guggenheim cut shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.00.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Down 0.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $445.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.39 and a beta of 0.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.88.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.03. Sell-side analysts forecast that Benitec Biopharma Limited will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Benitec Biopharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 11,548,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $155,556,000 after buying an additional 1,671,845 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 2,120,672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,565,000 after buying an additional 148,148 shares during the period. RA Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,920,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 1,038,371 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,987,000 after acquiring an additional 200,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 992,114 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,919,000 after acquiring an additional 22,948 shares during the last quarter. 52.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Benitec Biopharma

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.