Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.6667.

Several research firms recently commented on BNTC. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Citizens Jmp set a $22.00 price target on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Benitec Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L bought 77,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.44 per share, with a total value of $1,040,081.28. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,700,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,370,620.80. This trade represents a 0.80% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders purchased 190,364 shares of company stock valued at $2,442,105 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Benitec Biopharma

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey bought a new position in Benitec Biopharma during the second quarter worth $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,937 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 156.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,339 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000. 52.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Down 2.6%

NASDAQ BNTC opened at $10.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $374.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.56 and a beta of 0.26. Benitec Biopharma has a twelve month low of $9.85 and a twelve month high of $17.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $11.99 and its 200 day moving average is $13.11.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.03). On average, research analysts anticipate that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.