BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on BCRX. Royal Bank Of Canada cut BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Wedbush decreased their price target on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.38.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

BCRX opened at $7.63 on Friday. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $6.23 and a one year high of $11.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.37 and a beta of 0.55.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 37.40% and a negative return on equity of 94.24%. The business had revenue of $180.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $165.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.06 earnings per share. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals will post -2.26 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $238,930,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $95,268,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 20.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,908,506 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $84,854,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504,120 shares during the period. Perceptive Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 135.1% in the first quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 7,434,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,772,000 after purchasing an additional 4,271,504 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 21.8% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 6,468,726 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,884,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157,855 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for rare diseases. Founded in 1986, the company is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, and focuses on small-molecule treatments.

Its principal product is ORLADEYO (berotralstat), an oral medicine for preventing attacks of hereditary angioedema, a rare condition that causes episodes of swelling. BioCryst also develops medicines for rare diseases, including candidates targeting hereditary angioedema and complement-mediated disorders.

BioCryst serves patients in the United States and other markets through its commercial operations and regional partners.