Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

BNTC has been the topic of several other research reports. Guggenheim downgraded Benitec Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wedbush started coverage on Benitec Biopharma in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. Evercore started coverage on Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.80.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Performance

Shares of Benitec Biopharma stock opened at $11.71 on Friday. Benitec Biopharma has a 52-week low of $9.85 and a 52-week high of $16.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $12.03 and a 200-day moving average of $11.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $402.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.27 and a beta of 0.28.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.03. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Benitec Biopharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 18.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,961 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 43.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,376 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 5,251 shares during the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Benitec Biopharma during the 1st quarter valued at about $186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Benitec Biopharma by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,489 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 11,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Benitec Biopharma by 271.9% during the 1st quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 562,242 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,988,000 after purchasing an additional 411,079 shares during the last quarter. 52.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Benitec Biopharma Company Profile

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.