Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) Trading Up 6.8% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Belite Bio, Inc. Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BLTE) shot up 6.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $181.56 and last traded at $182.7310. Approximately 53,658 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 189,928 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on BLTE shares. Zacks Research lowered Belite Bio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a report on Thursday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho set a $220.00 target price on Belite Bio in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Belite Bio currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.64.

Belite Bio Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a PE ratio of -68.25 and a beta of -1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $157.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.31.

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Belite Bio, Inc. Sponsored ADR will post -3.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Hendrik Scholl sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.24, for a total transaction of $1,452,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,178,600. The trade was a 40.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Hao-Yuan Chuang sold 367 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.35, for a total value of $66,188.45. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 93,433 shares in the company, valued at $16,850,641.55. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,732 shares of company stock worth $2,990,116. 13.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Belite Bio

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLTE. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Belite Bio by 104.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,926 shares during the period. Amundi bought a new stake in Belite Bio during the 1st quarter worth approximately $671,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Belite Bio by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Belite Bio in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,125,000. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Belite Bio by 225.0% in the 1st quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 65,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 45,000 shares in the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Belite Bio Company Profile

Belite Bio, Inc (NASDAQ: BLTE) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing small molecule therapeutics for metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Leveraging a proprietary drug-discovery platform, the company aims to address conditions such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and obesity by targeting pathways involved in fibrosis, inflammation and metabolic regulation.

Belite Bio’s pipeline includes multiple candidates in preclinical and early clinical development stages.