Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

BLTE has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen raised Belite Bio from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial set a $217.00 target price on Belite Bio in a report on Friday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Belite Bio from $223.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Belite Bio currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.00.

Belite Bio Price Performance

BLTE stock opened at $161.08 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $146.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -63.67 and a beta of -1.23. Belite Bio has a 1-year low of $59.12 and a 1-year high of $200.00.

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by $0.26. As a group, analysts anticipate that Belite Bio will post -3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Belite Bio

In other Belite Bio news, insider Hendrik Peter Scholl sold 10,000 shares of Belite Bio stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.24, for a total transaction of $1,452,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,178,600. The trade was a 40.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nathan L. Mata sold 666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total transaction of $102,037.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,412.40. The trade was a 60.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,666 shares of company stock valued at $3,749,438. Company insiders own 13.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BLTE. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Belite Bio by 28,200.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Belite Bio in the fourth quarter worth about $103,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Belite Bio during the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Belite Bio by 28.1% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new stake in shares of Belite Bio during the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Institutional investors own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Belite Bio Company Profile

Belite Bio, Inc (NASDAQ: BLTE) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing small molecule therapeutics for metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Leveraging a proprietary drug-discovery platform, the company aims to address conditions such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and obesity by targeting pathways involved in fibrosis, inflammation and metabolic regulation.

Belite Bio’s pipeline includes multiple candidates in preclinical and early clinical development stages.