Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Shares Pass Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.57 and traded as low as $10.50. Benitec Biopharma shares last traded at $10.70, with a volume of 116,395 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BNTC. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Monday, March 9th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.67.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Down 4.4%

The stock has a market cap of $367.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.39 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.92.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L bought 77,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.44 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,081.28. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Benitec Biopharma by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 11,548,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $155,556,000 after buying an additional 1,671,845 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth $424,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the 4th quarter valued at $8,259,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the 4th quarter valued at $8,776,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 262,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.19% of the company’s stock.

Benitec Biopharma Company Profile

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.