BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $7.55, but opened at $8.20. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $7.8050, with a volume of 1,432,490 shares changing hands.

The biotechnology company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $1.05. The firm had revenue of $406.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.32 million. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 1.46% and a negative return on equity of 4.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 209.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.64.

Insider Activity at BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Alane P. Barnes sold 91,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.10, for a total transaction of $646,128.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 416,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,954,679.20. The trade was a 17.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 183,453 shares of company stock worth $1,330,965. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCRX. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 805.0% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 1,347,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,070,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198,263 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 48.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,584,206 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,194,000 after purchasing an additional 518,623 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 326.1% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 440,249 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,945,000 after purchasing an additional 336,920 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 2,103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,278,555 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,084,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,493,000. 85.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.8%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.39. The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of -158.78 and a beta of 0.83.

About BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, that focuses on the discovery and development of novel, oral small‐molecule medicines for rare and serious diseases. Since its founding in 1986, the company has leveraged structure‐based drug design to advance a pipeline of targeted therapeutics designed to address underlying disease mechanisms rather than just treat symptoms.

The company’s first commercial product, Orladeyo (berotralstat), is an oral kallikrein inhibitor approved for the prophylactic treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in both the United States and Europe.