BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Shares Up 3%

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) shares were up 3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $8.52 and last traded at $8.48. Approximately 683,681 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 3,267,259 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BCRX. StockNews.com raised shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.17.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.69 and a beta of 1.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $7.18 and its 200 day moving average is $6.05.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $109.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.65 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Machelle Sanders sold 4,689 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.00, for a total value of $28,134.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,742 shares in the company, valued at $166,452. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Machelle Sanders sold 4,689 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.00, for a total transaction of $28,134.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,742 shares in the company, valued at $166,452. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amy E. Mckee sold 8,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.32, for a total transaction of $54,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,891.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc increased its holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% in the second quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 65,633 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 75.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,613 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 20,014 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 353,133 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,182,000 after acquiring an additional 55,311 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 113.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 212,581 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 113,152 shares during the period. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C lifted its position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 8,135,804 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $50,279,000 after acquiring an additional 3,140,804 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

About BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biotechnology company, develops oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics to treat rare diseases. The company markets peramivir injection, an intravenous neuraminidase inhibitor for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza under the RAPIVAB, RAPIACTA, and PERAMIFLU names; and ORLADEYO, an oral serine protease inhibitor to treat hereditary angioedema.