BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded BioCryst from “strong buy” to “hold.” Other analyst views are mixed, though MarketBeat reports an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $20.38.
• BioCryst beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.14 versus $0.09 expected and revenue of $180.29 million versus $165.67 million expected; revenue rose 13.1% year over year.
• The stock opened at $7.69, within its 12-month range of $6.23 to $11.22.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $11.00 in a report on Thursday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Wedbush cut their price target on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.38.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ BCRX opened at $7.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.42 and a beta of 0.55. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $6.23 and a 12 month high of $11.22. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $8.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.75.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.90% and a negative return on equity of 86.89%. The company had revenue of $180.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $165.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals will post -2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCRX. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 21.8% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 6,468,726 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $53,884,000 after buying an additional 1,157,855 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 67.7% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,673 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 3,501 shares during the last quarter. Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. bought a new stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,815,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 134,967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 15,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winthrop Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing oral medicines for rare and serious diseases. The company uses structure-based drug design and small-molecule research to develop therapies intended to address conditions with limited treatment options.

BioCryst's primary commercial product is Orladeyo (berotralstat), an oral medication used to prevent hereditary angioedema attacks in adults and pediatric patients aged 12 and older. The company also maintains a pipeline of investigational therapies for complement-mediated diseases and other rare disorders, including programs designed to inhibit components of the complement system.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, BioCryst has historically conducted research and commercial activities in the United States and worked with international partners to make its products available in additional markets.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.