Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Canaccord Genuity Group

Key Points

• Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Belite Bio to “strong buy.” Analysts overall rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $214.64.
• Belite Bio shares opened at $193.61, near their 52-week high of $200, and have a market capitalization of approximately $7.8 billion. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.54 per share and analysts expect a full-year loss of $3.08 per share.
• Insiders sold about $3.0 million of stock over the past three months, while institutional ownership remains limited at 0.53%. Belite Bio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing treatments for metabolic and inflammatory diseases.

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Friday, Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Zacks Research lowered Belite Bio from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Belite Bio in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Belite Bio in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Belite Bio from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.64.

Belite Bio Stock Performance

Shares of BLTE opened at $193.61 on Friday. Belite Bio has a 1 year low of $64.80 and a 1 year high of $200.00. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $158.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.56. The company has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.92 and a beta of -1.23.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Hao-Yuan Chuang sold 367 shares of Belite Bio 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 93,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,850,641.55. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hendrik Scholl sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.24, for a total value of $1,452,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,178,600. The trade was a 40.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 20,732 shares of company stock worth $2,990,116 over the last three months. 13.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Belite Bio

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLTE. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Belite Bio by 7.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,257 shares of the company's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Belite Bio by 28.1% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,171 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Belite Bio by 28,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 283 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Belite Bio during the 4th quarter valued at $108,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new stake in Belite Bio during the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. 0.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Belite Bio

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.

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