Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

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

Benitec Biopharma Stock Down 8.5%

BNTC stock opened at $10.38 on Friday. Benitec Biopharma has a 52 week low of $9.80 and a 52 week high of $17.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.29 and a 200 day moving average of $13.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $355.62 million, a PE ratio of -9.11 and a beta of 0.26.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.03). On average, equities research analysts expect that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L bought 77,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.44 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,081.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,700,195 shares in the company, valued at $130,370,620.80. The trade was a 0.80% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 190,364 shares of company stock worth $2,442,105. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Benitec Biopharma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 44.5% in the third 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. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in Benitec Biopharma during the second quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.19% of the company’s stock.

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.