Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) Upgraded by Canaccord Genuity Group to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Belite Bio from $201.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Belite Bio from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $217.00 price objective on Belite Bio in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.64.

Belite Bio Trading Up 13.2%

Shares of NASDAQ BLTE opened at $193.61 on Friday. Belite Bio has a 12-month low of $64.80 and a 12-month high of $200.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.92 and a beta of -1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $158.18 and a 200 day moving average of $158.56.

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

Insider Activity at Belite Bio

In other Belite Bio news, insider Hendrik Scholl sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.24, for a total transaction of $1,452,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,178,600. This trade represents a 40.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Hao-Yuan Chuang sold 367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.35, for a total value of $66,188.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 93,433 shares in the company, valued at $16,850,641.55. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,732 shares of company stock worth $2,990,116. 13.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted 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 purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised 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 valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Belite Bio in the fourth quarter worth $108,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Belite Bio in the second quarter worth $147,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of Belite Bio during the second quarter worth $190,000. 0.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.