Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Bicycle Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BCYC) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Bicycle Therapeutics from $13 to $12 and kept an "equal weight" rating, a target that still implies roughly a 137% upside from the recent ~$5 share price.
• Analyst views are mixed but the MarketBeat consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $14.38, ranging from strong-buy to sell among individual firms.
• Bicycle reported a quarter that beat estimates—EPS $(0.29) vs $(1.00) expected and revenue $47.96M vs $7.08M—but remains unprofitable with negative margins and an analyst forecast of about -3.06 EPS for the year; insiders (including the CEO) recently sold shares to cover tax withholding on equity awards.

Bicycle Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BCYC - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $13.00 to $12.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 136.97% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on BCYC. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Bicycle Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on Bicycle Therapeutics from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bicycle Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Bicycle Therapeutics from $44.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Bicycle Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bicycle Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.38.

Bicycle Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:BCYC opened at $5.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $353.00 million, a P/E ratio of -1.60 and a beta of 1.65. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $5.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.55. Bicycle Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $4.24 and a 1 year high of $9.55.

Bicycle Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BCYC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.00) by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $47.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 million. Bicycle Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 33.21% and a negative net margin of 301.66%. On average, analysts expect that Bicycle Therapeutics will post -3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bicycle Therapeutics news, CEO Kevin Lee sold 5,967 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total transaction of $29,297.97. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 613,029 shares in the company, valued at $3,009,972.39. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 9,992 shares of company stock worth $49,363 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bicycle Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCYC. GSK plc purchased a new stake in Bicycle Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,829,000. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in Bicycle Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,976,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Bicycle Therapeutics by 64.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,148,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,889,000 after purchasing an additional 451,135 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Bicycle Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $3,088,000. Finally, Birchview Capital LP raised its position in Bicycle Therapeutics by 200.5% during the fourth quarter. Birchview Capital LP now owns 462,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 308,700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.15% of the company's stock.

About Bicycle Therapeutics

Bicycle Therapeutics plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in the discovery and development of novel peptide therapeutics based on its proprietary bicyclic peptide platform. The company's core technology leverages constrained peptide structures that combine the binding specificity of biologics with the favorable tissue-penetration properties of small molecules. This approach is designed to generate highly selective drug candidates with potential applications across a range of therapeutic areas, including oncology, neuroscience and immunology.

Bicycle Therapeutics maintains a diversified pipeline of internally developed programs as well as collaborations with leading pharmaceutical partners.

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