Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.00.

BNTC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Evercore initiated coverage on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, April 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 11,114.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,858 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 20,672 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 16,262 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 7,129 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma during the 2nd quarter worth about $80,000. 52.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Benitec Biopharma Trading Down 5.2%

Benitec Biopharma stock opened at $10.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $374.07 million, a PE ratio of -9.55 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.24. Benitec Biopharma has a 52 week low of $9.85 and a 52 week high of $17.15.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts predict that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

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.