Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) Earns Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $245.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 59.74% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Belite Bio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Belite Bio from $201.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Belite Bio currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.73.

Belite Bio Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Belite Bio stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $153.38. 22,921 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 191,593. Belite Bio has a twelve month low of $81.01 and a twelve month high of $200.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.78 and a beta of -1.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.74.

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Belite Bio will post -3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Hao-Yuan Chuang sold 17,962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.42, for a total value of $3,528,096.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,114,383.96. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Yu-Hsin Lin sold 26,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.56, for a total transaction of $5,110,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 70,134 shares in the company, valued at $13,785,539.04. This represents a 27.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 169,062 shares of company stock valued at $32,101,134. Insiders own 13.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in Belite Bio by 225.0% during the first quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 65,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,364,000 after buying an additional 45,000 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Belite Bio during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,125,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Belite Bio during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,291,000. Artia Global Partners LP acquired a new position in Belite Bio during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,878,000. Finally, Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Belite Bio during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,465,000. 0.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Belite Bio

Belite Bio, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for retinal diseases that can lead to vision loss. The company’s research centers on addressing biological processes associated with the accumulation of toxic vitamin A byproducts in the eye.

Belite Bio’s lead product candidate is tinlarebant, also known as LBS-008, an orally administered retinol-binding protein 4 antagonist. The company is evaluating tinlarebant for Stargardt disease, an inherited retinal disorder, and geographic atrophy associated with dry age-related macular degeneration.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in San Diego, California, Belite Bio conducts clinical development activities for its retinal disease programs.