Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC) Receives $24.43 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.71.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JMP Securities raised their price target on Benitec Biopharma from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Up 5.8 %

Shares of BNTC stock traded up $0.69 on Wednesday, reaching $12.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 54,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,503. Benitec Biopharma has a 12-month low of $4.75 and a 12-month high of $16.90. The company has a market capitalization of $296.19 million, a P/E ratio of -8.36 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $12.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.43.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by $0.19. Research analysts expect that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.48 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L bought 900,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.00 per share, for a total transaction of $11,700,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,793,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,312,185. This represents a 11.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 83,987 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 20,012 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Benitec Biopharma by 269.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,939,287 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $37,123,000 after acquiring an additional 2,142,643 shares during the period. MYDA Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma during the 4th quarter worth $632,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 134.4% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,972,524 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $24,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,129 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 38,200 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 13,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.19% of the company's stock.

Benitec Biopharma Company Profile

Benitec Biopharma Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development of novel genetic medicines. The company develops DNA-directed RNA interference-based therapeutics for chronic and life-threatening human conditions. It is developing BB-301, an adeno-associated virus based gene therapy agent for treating oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.