Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Position in Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC) by 269.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,939,287 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,142,643 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 12.66% of Benitec Biopharma worth $37,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Separately, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 83,987 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 20,012 shares in the last quarter. 52.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ BNTC opened at $12.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.28. Benitec Biopharma Inc. has a one year low of $4.75 and a one year high of $16.90. The company has a market capitalization of $288.92 million, a P/E ratio of -8.16 and a beta of 0.76.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by $0.19. As a group, equities analysts predict that Benitec Biopharma Inc. will post -1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Benitec Biopharma

In related news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L purchased 900,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.00 per share, for a total transaction of $11,700,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,793,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,312,185. This represents a 11.40 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BNTC. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, March 24th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $24.43.

Benitec Biopharma Company Profile

Benitec Biopharma Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development of novel genetic medicines. The company develops DNA-directed RNA interference-based therapeutics for chronic and life-threatening human conditions. It is developing BB-301, an adeno-associated virus based gene therapy agent for treating oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.