Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.03), Zacks reports.

Benitec Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BNTC traded down $0.22 on Friday, reaching $11.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 49,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,628. Benitec Biopharma has a 52-week low of $9.80 and a 52-week high of $17.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.83 million, a P/E ratio of -9.18 and a beta of 0.26.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L acquired 77,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.44 per share, with a total value of $1,040,081.28. Following the purchase, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders purchased a total of 190,364 shares of company stock valued at $2,442,105 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Benitec Biopharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Siren L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the fourth quarter valued at $10,439,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Benitec Biopharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,102,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Benitec Biopharma by 77.6% during 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 last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 458.8% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 99,941 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 82,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 75,507 shares in the last quarter. 52.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Benitec Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on Benitec Biopharma from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. HC Wainwright set a $32.00 price target on Benitec Biopharma and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Benitec Biopharma currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.25.

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.