BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) Short Interest Up 5.6% in March

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 32,250,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the March 15th total of 30,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,290,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.8 days.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:BCRX opened at $4.61 on Wednesday. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $4.45 and a twelve month high of $9.06. The company has a market cap of $950.35 million, a PE ratio of -3.91 and a beta of 1.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $5.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.63.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $93.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.19 million. As a group, analysts expect that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals will post -0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.29.

Institutional Trading of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCRX. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $34,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 200,281 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,256,000 after buying an additional 17,823 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 892,108 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,506,000 after acquiring an additional 34,176 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 48.5% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 59,450 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $967,000 after acquiring an additional 19,419 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 57.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 97,361 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 35,347 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

About BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biotechnology company, develops oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics to treat rare diseases. The company markets peramivir injection, an intravenous neuraminidase inhibitor for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza under the RAPIVAB, RAPIACTA, and PERAMIFLU names; and ORLADEYO, an oral serine protease inhibitor to treat hereditary angioedema.