Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Benitec Biopharma to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Guggenheim cut shares of Benitec Biopharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Benitec Biopharma from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Benitec Biopharma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Performance

BNTC opened at $10.88 on Friday. Benitec Biopharma has a one year low of $9.85 and a one year high of $16.76. The company has a market cap of $379.49 million, a P/E ratio of -11.10 and a beta of 0.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.04.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26). As a group, analysts predict that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Benitec Biopharma

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BNTC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Benitec Biopharma by 18.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,961 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased 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 valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 5,251 shares in the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Benitec Biopharma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $186,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 11,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empery Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Benitec Biopharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $747,000. 52.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Benitec Biopharma Company Profile

Benitec Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:BNTC) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing genetic medicines based on DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi). The company’s technology is designed to enable long-lasting suppression of disease-causing genes by delivering genetic instructions that produce RNA interference molecules within targeted cells.

Benitec’s lead product candidate is BB-301, an investigational gene therapy being developed for oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy type 1 (OPMD), a rare inherited disorder that can cause progressive weakness of the muscles involved in swallowing and eye movement.