HC Wainwright Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC)

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $28.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target suggests a potential upside of 142.01% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on BNTC. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.43.

Benitec Biopharma Trading Up 3.4 %

BNTC opened at $11.57 on Friday. Benitec Biopharma has a fifty-two week low of $2.75 and a fifty-two week high of $13.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.30.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by $0.19. Equities analysts expect that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L acquired 27,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.98 per share, for a total transaction of $301,971.96. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,981,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,639,340.50. The trade was a 0.35 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 127.5% during the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 116,535 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after buying an additional 65,319 shares in the last quarter. Acuta Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Benitec Biopharma during the third quarter worth approximately $274,000. Suvretta Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 422.0% during the third quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 8,829,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,139,000 after buying an additional 7,137,763 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 31.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 83,987 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $772,000 after buying an additional 20,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 269.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,939,287 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,123,000 after buying an additional 2,142,643 shares in the last quarter. 52.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Benitec Biopharma Company Profile

Benitec Biopharma Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development of novel genetic medicines. The company develops DNA-directed RNA interference-based therapeutics for chronic and life-threatening human conditions. It is developing BB-301, an adeno-associated virus based gene therapy agent for treating oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.