Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Stock Price Passes Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC)’s stock price passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.52 and traded as low as $11.99. Benitec Biopharma shares last traded at $12.08, with a volume of 138,432 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. JMP Securities set a $22.00 price objective on Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Benitec Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Benitec Biopharma from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.25.

Benitec Biopharma Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.15. The company has a market cap of $409.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.98 and a beta of 0.19.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by $0.13. On average, analysts forecast that Benitec Biopharma Limited will post -1.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L acquired 1,481,481 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.50 per share, for a total transaction of $19,999,993.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,538,175 shares in the company, valued at $128,765,362.50. This represents a 18.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased a total of 1,671,845 shares of company stock worth $22,442,099 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Benitec Biopharma

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Benitec Biopharma by 44.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,937 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new position in Benitec Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Benitec Biopharma in the third quarter valued at $79,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the second quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 2,255.8% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 6,587 shares during the period. 52.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.