First Trust Advisors LP Buys 425,939 Shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $BCRX

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP more than doubled its BioCryst Pharmaceuticals stake in the first quarter, adding 425,939 shares for a total of 800,900 shares valued at approximately $7.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.88% of BCRX.
• BioCryst reported quarterly revenue of $156.4 million, exceeding estimates, but posted a significantly worse-than-expected loss of $2.98 per share. Revenue increased 7.5% year over year, while the company remained unprofitable.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with eight Buy ratings and four Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $20.80 versus the stock’s recent price near $8.98.

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX - Free Report) by 113.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 800,900 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 425,939 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.32% of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals worth $7,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BCRX. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 63,463 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,330 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 1,494 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 22,105 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 1,527 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,231 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 2,115 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC increased its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 23,949 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:BCRX opened at $8.98 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.30 and a 200-day moving average of $8.63. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of -5.04 and a beta of 0.55. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $6.00 and a one year high of $11.22.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.98) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($3.04). The business had revenue of $156.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.12 million. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 51.71% and a negative return on equity of 76.36%. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BCRX. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Citizens Jmp upped their target price 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. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.80.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Profile

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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