Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wedbush

Wedbush upgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on BNTC. Guggenheim downgraded Benitec Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Benitec Biopharma presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.80.

Benitec Biopharma Trading Up 2.7%

NASDAQ BNTC opened at $11.89 on Tuesday. Benitec Biopharma has a 1-year low of $9.85 and a 1-year high of $16.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.99 and a 200-day moving average of $11.81. The firm has a market cap of $408.42 million, a PE ratio of -10.43 and a beta of 0.25.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.03. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its position in Benitec Biopharma by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 11,548,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $155,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,671,845 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 2,120,672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,565,000 after buying an additional 148,148 shares during the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,920,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 1,038,371 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,987,000 after buying an additional 200,276 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 992,114 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,919,000 after buying an additional 22,948 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.