Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Stock Breaks Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC)’s stock price crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.73 and traded as low as $8.61. Benitec Biopharma shares last traded at $8.75, with a volume of 234,859 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BNTC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Benitec Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, September 28th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Tuesday. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Benitec Biopharma from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Benitec Biopharma currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Benitec Biopharma Trading Up 1.4%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.68 and a 200 day moving average of $11.83. The firm has a market cap of $309.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.05 and a beta of 0.25.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.26). As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Benitec Biopharma Limited will post -1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Benitec Biopharma

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BNTC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Benitec Biopharma by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,961 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 43.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,376 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 5,251 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 37.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,489 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 11,877 shares in the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $186,000. Finally, MYDA Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 221.4% during the fourth quarter. MYDA Advisors LLC now owns 225,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,031,000 after buying an additional 155,000 shares during the last quarter. 52.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Benitec Biopharma

Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing genetic medicines for chronic and potentially life-threatening diseases. The company’s work is based on DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi), a gene-silencing technology designed to produce sustained suppression of disease-causing genes within targeted cells.

Benitec’s lead investigational product is BB-301, an adeno-associated virus gene therapy being developed for oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD), a rare inherited disorder that can cause progressive difficulty swallowing and weakness of the eyelid and throat muscles.