Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Director Suvretta Capital Management, L Acquires 50,000 Shares

Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) Director Suvretta Capital Management, L purchased 50,000 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $642,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,620,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,617,963.75. This represents a 0.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Suvretta Capital Management, L also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 29th, Suvretta Capital Management, L acquired 77,387 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.44 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,081.28.
• On Friday, December 26th, Suvretta Capital Management, L bought 16,836 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.10 per share, for a total transaction of $220,551.60.
• On Monday, December 22nd, Suvretta Capital Management, L bought 19,542 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.08 per share, with a total value of $236,067.36.
• On Friday, December 19th, Suvretta Capital Management, L purchased 16,384 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.48 per share, with a total value of $188,088.32.
• On Thursday, December 18th, Suvretta Capital Management, L purchased 10,215 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.24 per share, for a total transaction of $114,816.60.
• On Friday, November 7th, Suvretta Capital Management, L acquired 1,481,481 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.50 per share, for a total transaction of $19,999,993.50.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ BNTC opened at $13.49 on Tuesday. Benitec Biopharma Limited has a one year low of $9.70 and a one year high of $17.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.55 and a 200 day moving average of $13.36. The company has a market capitalization of $456.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.15 and a beta of 0.20.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by $0.13. On average, equities analysts predict that Benitec Biopharma Limited will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Benitec Biopharma

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BNTC. Infinitum Asset Management LLC increased its position in Benitec Biopharma by 435.7% in the first quarter. Infinitum Asset Management LLC now owns 1,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,636,000 after buying an additional 915,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 77.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 415,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,859,000 after acquiring an additional 181,391 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 458.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 99,941 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 82,057 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Benitec Biopharma by 219.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 109,925 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 75,507 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new stake in Benitec Biopharma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $597,000. Institutional investors own 52.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BNTC. Wall Street Zen raised Benitec Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. HC Wainwright set a $32.00 price objective on Benitec Biopharma and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Zacks Research raised Benitec Biopharma from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $29.00 price target (down from $35.00) on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $22.00 price target on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Benitec Biopharma presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.25.

About Benitec Biopharma

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.