Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $BCRX

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 1.1%, selling 230,657 shares and owning 21,659,765 shares by the end of the first quarter.
• Insider Theresa Heggie sold 70,000 shares at an average price of $8.51, marking a 51.72% decrease in her position.
• Several analysts have rated BioCryst Pharmaceuticals with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $16.70, indicating positive market sentiment towards the stock.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,659,765 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 230,657 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.35% of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals worth $162,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 161,516 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,214,000 after buying an additional 65,420 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 82.4% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,148,969 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $16,117,000 after buying an additional 971,040 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 401,111 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,016,000 after buying an additional 11,581 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BCRX. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.70.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of BCRX stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $8.58. The company had a trading volume of 2,025,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,310,944. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.01 and a 52-week high of $11.31. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $8.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.79. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $163.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $149.59 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.06) EPS. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 49.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Theresa Heggie sold 70,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.51, for a total value of $595,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 65,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,145.52. The trade was a 51.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.10% 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.