Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Price Target Raised to $17.00

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) had its price objective boosted by Wedbush from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised Benitec Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Benitec Biopharma to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim lowered Benitec Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Up 2.9%

BNTC stock opened at $11.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $396.24 million, a PE ratio of -11.59 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.04. Benitec Biopharma has a fifty-two week low of $9.85 and a fifty-two week high of $16.76.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26). Equities analysts forecast that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Benitec Biopharma

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 18.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,961 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Benitec Biopharma by 43.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,376 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 5,251 shares during the period. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Benitec Biopharma in the first quarter worth approximately $186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Benitec Biopharma by 37.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,489 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 11,877 shares during the period. Finally, Empery Asset Management LP bought a new position in Benitec Biopharma during the 4th quarter valued at $747,000. 52.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Benitec Biopharma Company Profile

Benitec Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:BNTC) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing genetic medicines based on DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi). The company’s technology is designed to enable long-lasting suppression of disease-causing genes by delivering genetic instructions that produce RNA interference molecules within targeted cells.

Benitec’s lead product candidate is BB-301, an investigational gene therapy being developed for oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy type 1 (OPMD), a rare inherited disorder that can cause progressive weakness of the muscles involved in swallowing and eye movement.