Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) Earns Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $245.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective points to a potential upside of 60.53% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BLTE. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Belite Bio in a research note on Friday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $303.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Belite Bio from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research cut Belite Bio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Belite Bio from $201.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Belite Bio has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.73.

Belite Bio Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:BLTE traded down $0.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $152.62. 195,857 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 192,563. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of -55.90 and a beta of -1.23. Belite Bio has a 52 week low of $81.01 and a 52 week high of $200.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $166.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.74.

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Belite Bio will post -3.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Belite Bio

In related news, CFO Hao-Yuan Chuang sold 17,962 shares of Belite Bio stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.42, for a total transaction of $3,528,096.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,114,383.96. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Yu-Hsin Lin sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.56, for a total value of $5,110,560.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 70,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,785,539.04. The trade was a 27.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 169,062 shares of company stock valued at $32,101,134. 13.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLTE. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Belite Bio by 225.0% during the 1st quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 65,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after acquiring an additional 45,000 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Belite Bio during the first quarter worth about $3,125,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Belite Bio in the 1st quarter worth about $8,291,000. Artia Global Partners LP bought a new stake in Belite Bio in the 4th quarter worth about $2,878,000. Finally, Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Belite Bio in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,465,000. Institutional investors own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Belite Bio Company Profile

Belite Bio, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for retinal diseases that can lead to vision loss. The company’s research centers on addressing biological processes associated with the accumulation of toxic vitamin A byproducts in the eye.

Belite Bio’s lead product candidate is tinlarebant, also known as LBS-008, an orally administered retinol-binding protein 4 antagonist. The company is evaluating tinlarebant for Stargardt disease, an inherited retinal disorder, and geographic atrophy associated with dry age-related macular degeneration.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in San Diego, California, Belite Bio conducts clinical development activities for its retinal disease programs.