BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $7.95, but opened at $9.14. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $8.32, with a volume of 2,333,940 shares trading hands.

The biotechnology company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $163.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.59 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.06) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 49.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCRX has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.70.

Institutional Trading of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCRX. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 1,161.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,918 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5,449 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $9.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.10.

About BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biotechnology company, develops oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics to treat rare diseases. 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.