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

Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BNTC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, March 9th. Evercore began coverage on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim lowered Benitec Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Monday, April 20th.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ BNTC opened at $11.18 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $384.03 million, a P/E ratio of -9.81 and a beta of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $11.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.84. Benitec Biopharma has a fifty-two week low of $9.85 and a fifty-two week high of $17.10.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.03. As a group, equities analysts predict that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Benitec Biopharma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BNTC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the first quarter worth about $597,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Benitec Biopharma by 77.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 415,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,859,000 after buying an additional 181,391 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in Benitec Biopharma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 11,114.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,858 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 20,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Benitec Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $127,000. 52.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.