BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $6.00 and last traded at $6.42, with a volume of 36933905 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.30.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 8.8%

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.66, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.05.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $163.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.59 million. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 49.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.06) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Theresa Heggie sold 70,000 shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.51, for a total transaction of $595,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 65,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,145.52. The trade was a 51.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 326.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 10,590 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 8,109 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 10.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 48,611 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 4,466 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 1,208.9% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 55,221 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 51,002 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 60,906 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 10,361 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 213.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 21,758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 14,822 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

About BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biotechnology company, develops oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics to treat rare diseases. The company markets peramivir injection, an intravenous neuraminidase inhibitor for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza under the RAPIVAB, RAPIACTA, and PERAMIFLU names; and ORLADEYO, an oral serine protease inhibitor to treat hereditary angioedema.