BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Shares Climb 3.3% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• BioCryst shares rose 3.3% to $8.215 in mid-day trading, although volume was 92% below the stock’s average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: seven analysts rate the stock a Buy, four rate it Hold and one rates it Sell. The consensus rating is “Moderate Buy”, with a $20.50 price target.
• BioCryst exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.30 in adjusted earnings per share versus a $0.15 estimate and $218.25 million in revenue versus $183.28 million expected; however, the company continues to post negative margins and return on equity.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) traded up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $8.15 and last traded at $8.2150. 393,314 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 4,863,441 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on BCRX shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.50.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.22. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of -5.54 and a beta of 0.55.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $218.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.28 million. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 86.89% and a negative net margin of 40.90%.BioCryst Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. Analysts expect that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 2,515.3% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,243 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3,119 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $98,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $101,000. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company's stock.

About BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops and commercializes oral medicines for rare diseases. The company focuses on small-molecule therapies designed to address diseases with significant unmet medical needs, including hereditary angioedema and complement-mediated disorders.

BioCryst's primary commercial product is Orladeyo (berotralstat), an oral plasma kallikrein inhibitor used to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema in adults and pediatric patients.

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