HC Wainwright Reaffirms Buy Rating for Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE)

Key Points

• HC Wainwright reaffirmed its Buy rating on Belite Bio and maintained a $245 price target, implying approximately 60.4% upside from the stock’s $152.72 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with eight Buy ratings, two Holds, and one Sell; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $218.73.
• Belite Bio reported a quarterly loss of $0.54 per share, while insiders sold roughly $32.1 million of stock over the past 90 days. The clinical-stage biotech is developing tinlarebant for Stargardt disease and geographic atrophy linked to dry age-related macular degeneration.

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $245.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright's target price would indicate a potential upside of 60.42% from the stock's current price.

BLTE has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Belite Bio from $220.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Friday, September 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $303.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Belite Bio from $201.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $218.73.

Belite Bio Trading Up 0.6%

BLTE opened at $152.72 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $166.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.74. The company has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.94 and a beta of -1.23. Belite Bio has a 1-year low of $79.05 and a 1-year high of $200.00.

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Belite Bio will post -3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Belite Bio news, insider Hendrik Scholl sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.32, for a total value of $82,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,397,140. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Yu-Hsin Lin sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.56, for a total value of $5,110,560.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 70,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,785,539.04. The trade was a 27.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 169,062 shares of company stock valued at $32,101,134. Corporate insiders own 13.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Belite Bio

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLTE. Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Belite Bio by 732.0% during the fourth quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 414,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,262,000 after acquiring an additional 364,451 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Belite Bio during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,291,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Belite Bio by 225.0% during the first quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 65,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,364,000 after acquiring an additional 45,000 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Belite Bio during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,125,000. Finally, Artia Global Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Belite Bio during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,878,000. 0.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Belite Bio

Belite Bio, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for retinal diseases that can lead to vision loss. The company's research centers on addressing biological processes associated with the accumulation of toxic vitamin A byproducts in the eye.

Belite Bio's lead product candidate is tinlarebant, also known as LBS-008, an orally administered retinol-binding protein 4 antagonist. The company is evaluating tinlarebant for Stargardt disease, an inherited retinal disorder, and geographic atrophy associated with dry age-related macular degeneration.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in San Diego, California, Belite Bio conducts clinical development activities for its retinal disease programs.