Janus Henderson Group PLC Buys 1,739,904 Shares of Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC) by 198.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,616,427 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,739,904 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.11% of Benitec Biopharma worth $33,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 38,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 13,425 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 138.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 35,476 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 20,597 shares during the last quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth about $452,000. MYDA Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the fourth quarter worth about $632,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 134.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 197,096 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 113,109 shares during the last quarter. 52.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BNTC. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, March 24th. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Benitec Biopharma from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Benitec Biopharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $24.71.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ BNTC opened at $13.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $318.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.99 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.98. Benitec Biopharma Inc. has a one year low of $5.74 and a one year high of $16.90.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.36) by $0.12. Equities analysts expect that Benitec Biopharma Inc. will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Benitec Biopharma

In other news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L acquired 900,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.00 per share, with a total value of $11,700,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,793,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,312,185. This represents a 11.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.