BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $BCRX Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its BioCryst Pharmaceuticals stake by 88.8% in the first quarter, selling 143,341 shares and retaining 18,115 shares worth approximately $173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 85.88% of BCRX.
• BioCryst exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.30 EPS versus a $0.15 consensus estimate and revenue of $218.25 million, up 33.6% year over year. Despite the stronger results, the company continues to post negative net margins and analysts expect a full-year loss.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $20.60, substantially above the stock’s recent $9.82 price. Price targets range from $12 to $32.

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX - Free Report) by 88.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,115 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 143,341 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada's holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals were worth $173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 1,188.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,542 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,267 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $77,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $81,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $81,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BCRX opened at $9.82 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $9.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.05. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $6.00 and a one year high of $11.22. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.55 and a beta of 0.55.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.15. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.90% and a negative return on equity of 86.89%. The firm had revenue of $218.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $183.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.25 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.60.

About BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, that focuses on the discovery and development of novel, oral small‐molecule medicines for rare and serious diseases. Since its founding in 1986, the company has leveraged structure‐based drug design to advance a pipeline of targeted therapeutics designed to address underlying disease mechanisms rather than just treat symptoms.

The company's first commercial product, Orladeyo (berotralstat), is an oral kallikrein inhibitor approved for the prophylactic treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in both the United States and Europe.

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