Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) Shares Up 6.8% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Belite Bio shares rose 6.8% to approximately $182.73, despite trading volume falling 72% below its average daily level. The stock has gained 9.1% over the referenced period.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with eight Buy ratings, one Hold and one Sell; the average price target is $214.64, including Canaccord Genuity’s $303 target.
• The company remains unprofitable, reporting a quarterly loss of $0.54 per share and facing an expected full-year loss of $3.08 per share. Insiders have sold about 20,732 shares worth $2.99 million over the past 90 days.

Belite Bio, Inc. Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BLTE - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 6.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $181.56 and last traded at $182.7310. 53,658 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 189,928 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLTE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Belite Bio from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Belite Bio in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Belite Bio in a report on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $303.00 price target for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.64.

Belite Bio Stock Up 9.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -68.25 and a beta of -1.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.31.

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Belite Bio, Inc. Sponsored ADR will post -3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Yu-Hsin Lin sold 365 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.35, for a total transaction of $65,827.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 170,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,762,119.15. This represents a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Hendrik Scholl sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.24, for a total transaction of $1,452,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,178,600. This represents a 40.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 20,732 shares of company stock valued at $2,990,116 over the last ninety days. 13.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Belite Bio

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Belite Bio by 28,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 283 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Belite Bio by 28.1% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,171 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Belite Bio in the 4th quarter worth about $108,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Belite Bio in the 2nd quarter worth about $147,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in Belite Bio in the 2nd quarter valued at about $190,000. Institutional investors own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Belite Bio Company Profile

Belite Bio, Inc NASDAQ: BLTE is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing small molecule therapeutics for metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Leveraging a proprietary drug-discovery platform, the company aims to address conditions such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and obesity by targeting pathways involved in fibrosis, inflammation and metabolic regulation.

Belite Bio’s pipeline includes multiple candidates in preclinical and early clinical development stages.

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