Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.43.

BNTC has been the subject of several research reports. Baird R W raised shares of Benitec Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Benitec Biopharma

In other news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L bought 27,502 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.98 per share, with a total value of $301,971.96. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,981,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,639,340.50. This trade represents a 0.35 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Simplify Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 127.5% during the 3rd 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 shares of Benitec Biopharma during the 3rd quarter worth about $274,000. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 422.0% during the 3rd 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 raised its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 31.3% during the 3rd 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. raised its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 269.0% during the 4th 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Benitec Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of BNTC stock opened at $15.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $367.24 million, a P/E ratio of -10.37 and a beta of 0.92. Benitec Biopharma has a 1-year low of $4.75 and a 1-year high of $15.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $11.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.85.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last announced 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.48 EPS for the current year.

About Benitec Biopharma

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.