Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Takes $23.32 Million Position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $BCRX

Key Points

• Rice Hall James & Associates acquired 2.33 million BioCryst Pharmaceuticals shares worth approximately $23.32 million, representing 0.92% of the company and 1.1% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 85.88%, with several major investors—including RA Capital, Deerfield Management, Janus Henderson, Perceptive Advisors, and Bank of America—also increasing their positions.
• BioCryst reported quarterly revenue of $218.25 million and EPS of $0.30, exceeding analyst estimates; analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $20.60 versus the stock’s $9.94 opening price.

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,332,043 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $23,320,000. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals comprises about 1.1% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned 0.92% of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RA Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,452,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 159.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 12,169,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $92,363,000 after purchasing an additional 7,477,000 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 7,807.2% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,404,386 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $57,791,000 after purchasing an additional 7,310,745 shares during the period. Perceptive Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 135.1% in the 1st quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 7,434,033 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $70,772,000 after purchasing an additional 4,271,504 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 231.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,091,765 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,474,000 after purchasing an additional 3,556,208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCRX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 1st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wedbush cut 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 report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, July 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.60.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

BCRX opened at $9.94 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $9.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.86. 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 $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.63 and a beta of 0.56.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.15. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 86.89% and a negative net margin of 40.90%.The firm had revenue of $218.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.28 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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