Benitec Biopharma Limited $BNTC Shares Purchased by Simplify Asset Management Inc.

Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) by 271.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 562,242 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 411,079 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Benitec Biopharma were worth $5,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its position in Benitec Biopharma by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 11,548,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $155,556,000 after buying an additional 1,671,845 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 2,120,672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,565,000 after purchasing an additional 148,148 shares during the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Benitec Biopharma during the fourth quarter worth $24,920,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Benitec Biopharma by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 1,038,371 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,987,000 after purchasing an additional 200,276 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Benitec Biopharma by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 992,114 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,919,000 after purchasing an additional 22,948 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.19% of the company’s stock.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BNTC opened at $13.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.82. Benitec Biopharma Limited has a 1 year low of $9.85 and a 1 year high of $16.76. The company has a market capitalization of $454.11 million, a PE ratio of -11.60 and a beta of 0.25.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.03. On average, equities analysts expect that Benitec Biopharma Limited will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Monday, April 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, March 9th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Guggenheim lowered Benitec Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Evercore assumed coverage on Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

About Benitec Biopharma

Benitec Biopharma Ltd (NASDAQ: BNTC) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing gene-silencing therapies for serious human diseases. The company’s proprietary DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi) platform is designed to enable sustained expression of small RNA molecules that specifically target and silence disease-causing genes. By integrating RNAi sequences directly into DNA constructs, ddRNAi aims to provide a long-term therapeutic effect from a single administration.

Benitec’s lead programs include development of ddRNAi candidates for chronic hepatitis B virus infection and for certain ocular conditions.