Citigroup Inc. Purchases 318,249 Shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX)

Citigroup Inc. increased its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) by 93.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 659,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 318,249 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.35% of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals worth $5,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Natixis bought a new position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC bought a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $83,000. 91.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BioCryst Pharmaceuticals news, Director Machelle Sanders sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.98, for a total transaction of $31,920.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,375.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target (down previously from $14.00) on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.50.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $7.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.64 and a beta of 1.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.97. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.62 and a 1 year high of $14.50.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $81.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.42 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.32) EPS. Research analysts expect that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biotechnology company, discovers novel, oral, and small-molecule medicines. The company markets peramivir injection, an intravenous neuraminidase inhibitor for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza under the RAPIVAB, RAPIACTA, and PERAMIFLU names; and ORLADEYO, an oral serine protease inhibitor to treat hereditary angioedema.