Analysts Set Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) PT at $27.67

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

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BNTC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Benitec Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. HC Wainwright set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Benitec Biopharma and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Citizens Jmp set a $22.00 target price on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L bought 77,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.44 per share, with a total value of $1,040,081.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders acquired 190,364 shares of company stock worth $2,442,105 over the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Suvretta Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 16.9% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in Benitec Biopharma by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 2,120,672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,565,000 after purchasing an additional 148,148 shares during the period. RA Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth about $24,920,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 1,038,371 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,987,000 after purchasing an additional 200,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 992,114 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,919,000 after purchasing an additional 22,948 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.19% of the company’s stock.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Down 0.6%

Benitec Biopharma stock opened at $10.83 on Friday. Benitec Biopharma has a 52 week low of $9.85 and a 52 week high of $17.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.10. The stock has a market cap of $372.01 million, a P/E ratio of -9.50 and a beta of 0.31.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last released 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). On average, equities analysts anticipate that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.48 EPS for the current year.

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.