Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.00.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Benitec Biopharma to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Benitec Biopharma from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Guggenheim lowered Benitec Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Benitec Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Benitec Biopharma

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BNTC. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Benitec Biopharma by 18.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,961 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 43.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,376 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 5,251 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 37.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,489 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 11,877 shares during the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the first quarter worth approximately $186,000. Finally, Empery Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $747,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.19% of the company’s stock.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ BNTC opened at $10.95 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $12.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.04. The company has a market capitalization of $381.94 million, a PE ratio of -11.17 and a beta of 0.27. Benitec Biopharma has a twelve month low of $9.85 and a twelve month high of $16.76.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.26). As a group, research analysts expect that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Benitec Biopharma Company Profile

Benitec Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:BNTC) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing genetic medicines based on DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi). The company’s technology is designed to enable long-lasting suppression of disease-causing genes by delivering genetic instructions that produce RNA interference molecules within targeted cells.

Benitec’s lead product candidate is BB-301, an investigational gene therapy being developed for oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy type 1 (OPMD), a rare inherited disorder that can cause progressive weakness of the muscles involved in swallowing and eye movement.