BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• BioCryst shares fell sharply at the open, dropping from a prior close of $9.96 to $9.12 and last trading around $9.03 on heavy volume.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with eight Buy ratings and four Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $20.60.
• The company beat quarterly estimates with adjusted earnings of $0.30 per share and revenue of $218.25 million, up 33.6% year over year, although it continues to report negative margins and analysts expect a full-year loss.

Shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $9.96, but opened at $9.12. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $9.0320, with a volume of 1,651,086 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCRX has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.60.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.75 and a 200 day moving average of $9.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.06 and a beta of 0.57.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) last released its 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.25 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCRX. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 1,188.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,542 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,267 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $52,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $101,000. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $77,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $103,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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