Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.00.

Several equities research analysts have commented on BNTC shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Evercore started coverage on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th.

Benitec Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of Benitec Biopharma stock opened at $13.44 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.84. Benitec Biopharma has a 1 year low of $9.85 and a 1 year high of $16.76. The stock has a market cap of $461.66 million, a PE ratio of -11.79 and a beta of 0.25.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.03. As a group, equities analysts expect that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Benitec Biopharma

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BNTC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 44.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,937 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in Benitec Biopharma by 156.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 3,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,339 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Benitec Biopharma during the third quarter valued at $79,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 2,255.8% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 6,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma in the second quarter valued at about $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.19% of the company’s stock.

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.