Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.43.

A number of research firms have recently commented on BNTC. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Benitec Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Benitec Biopharma Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of Benitec Biopharma stock opened at $16.11 on Friday. Benitec Biopharma has a 12-month low of $4.75 and a 12-month high of $16.90. The company has a market cap of $377.80 million, a P/E ratio of -10.67 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.94.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by $0.19. Analysts predict that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Benitec Biopharma

In other news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L bought 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.98 per share, for a total transaction of $301,971.96. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,981,725 shares in the company, valued at $87,639,340.50. This represents a 0.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Benitec Biopharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BNTC. Acuta Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma during the third quarter worth about $274,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 138.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 35,476 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 20,597 shares during the last quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth $452,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 38,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 13,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MYDA Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Benitec Biopharma in the 4th quarter valued at $632,000. 52.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Benitec Biopharma Company Profile

Benitec Biopharma Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development of novel genetic medicines. The company develops DNA-directed RNA interference-based therapeutics for chronic and life-threatening human conditions. It is developing BB-301, an adeno-associated virus based gene therapy agent for treating oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.