BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• BioCryst Pharmaceuticals shares gapped down significantly, opening at $6.62 after closing at $7.04 the previous day, marking a decline of over 10.9%.
• The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and representing a 49.5% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, with an average target price of $16.30.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $7.04, but opened at $6.62. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $6.42, with a volume of 8,940,839 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.30.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 10.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.68.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $163.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.06) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 49.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

In other BioCryst Pharmaceuticals news, Director Theresa Heggie sold 70,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.51, for a total value of $595,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 65,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,145.52. This trade represents a 51.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 25,631.2% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,620,637 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,441,000 after acquiring an additional 3,606,566 shares during the period. Doliver Advisors LP boosted its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 269.1% during the second quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 274,328 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,458,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 244.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 670,361 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,023,000 after purchasing an additional 475,564 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 382.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,812,874 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,597,000 after purchasing an additional 3,022,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

About BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biotechnology company, develops oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics to treat rare diseases. The company markets peramivir injection, an intravenous neuraminidase inhibitor for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza under the RAPIVAB, RAPIACTA, and PERAMIFLU names; and ORLADEYO, an oral serine protease inhibitor to treat hereditary angioedema.

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