Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) Stock Price Up 7.1% Following Strong Earnings

Belite Bio, Inc. Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BLTE)’s share price traded up 7.1% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $163.00 and last traded at $167.0560. Approximately 117,062 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 188,958 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.94.

The company reported ($0.60) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLTE has been the subject of several research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Belite Bio in a research note on Friday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $303.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Belite Bio from $220.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Belite Bio from $201.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Belite Bio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Belite Bio presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Hao-Yuan Chuang sold 17,962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.42, for a total transaction of $3,528,096.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,114,383.96. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hendrik Scholl sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.32, for a total value of $82,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 14,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,140. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 168,330 shares of company stock worth $31,969,118. Insiders own 13.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Belite Bio

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BLTE. Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new position in shares of Belite Bio during the third quarter valued at about $10,711,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Belite Bio by 225.0% in the 1st quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 65,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 45,000 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Belite Bio during the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,291,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Belite Bio by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,781,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in Belite Bio during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,076,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Belite Bio Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -61.05 and a beta of -1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.21.

Belite Bio Company Profile

Belite Bio, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for retinal and metabolic diseases. The company focuses on conditions with limited treatment options, including inherited retinal disorders and age-related eye disease. Its lead drug candidate, tinlarebant, is an oral therapy designed to reduce the accumulation of toxic vitamin A byproducts in the retina. Belite Bio is evaluating tinlarebant for Stargardt disease and geographic atrophy associated with dry age-related macular degeneration.