Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 2,142,643 Shares of Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC) by 269.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,939,287 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,142,643 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.13% of Benitec Biopharma worth $37,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Separately, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 83,987 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 20,012 shares in the last quarter. 52.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BNTC. Baird R W upgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $24.43.

Insider Activity at Benitec Biopharma

In other news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L purchased 900,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.00 per share, with a total value of $11,700,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,793,245 shares in the company, valued at $114,312,185. This represents a 11.40 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ BNTC opened at $12.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $288.92 million, a PE ratio of -8.16 and a beta of 0.76. Benitec Biopharma Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.75 and a 52-week high of $16.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.28.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last announced its 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. On average, analysts forecast that Benitec Biopharma Inc. will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Benitec Biopharma 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.