Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

BNTC has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Friday, July 17th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Benitec Biopharma from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Benitec Biopharma has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Benitec Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BNTC opened at $11.02 on Friday. Benitec Biopharma has a fifty-two week low of $9.85 and a fifty-two week high of $16.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $384.38 million, a P/E ratio of -11.24 and a beta of 0.27.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.26). As a group, research analysts expect that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Benitec Biopharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Simplify Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Benitec Biopharma by 271.9% during the 1st quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 562,242 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,988,000 after purchasing an additional 411,079 shares during the period. MYDA Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 221.4% during the 4th 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 period. AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma during the second quarter worth approximately $2,515,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Benitec Biopharma in the second quarter valued at approximately $804,000. Finally, Empery Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Benitec Biopharma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $747,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.19% of the company’s stock.

Benitec Biopharma Company Profile

Benitec Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:BNTC) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing genetic medicines based on DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi). The company’s technology is designed to enable long-lasting suppression of disease-causing genes by delivering genetic instructions that produce RNA interference molecules within targeted cells.

Benitec’s lead product candidate is BB-301, an investigational gene therapy being developed for oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy type 1 (OPMD), a rare inherited disorder that can cause progressive weakness of the muscles involved in swallowing and eye movement.