Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Stock Price Passes Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.93 and traded as high as $13.37. Benitec Biopharma shares last traded at $12.98, with a volume of 65,265 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim cut shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore started coverage on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Benitec Biopharma from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Benitec Biopharma Trading Down 0.1%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $11.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.88. The company has a market cap of $445.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.39 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Benitec Biopharma

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BNTC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Benitec Biopharma by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,961 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 43.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,376 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 5,251 shares in the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Benitec Biopharma in the first quarter valued at approximately $186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Benitec Biopharma by 37.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,489 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 11,877 shares during the period. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 271.9% during the first quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 562,242 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,988,000 after acquiring an additional 411,079 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.19% of the company’s stock.

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.