BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Shares Up 9.1% – Here’s Why

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX)’s share price traded up 9.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $8.80 and last traded at $8.83. 465,502 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 2,361,642 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of -14.44 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.70 and a 200 day moving average of $7.71.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $117.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.19) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Counterweight Ventures LLC increased its stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 591.7% in the third quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC now owns 93,384 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 79,884 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 299,152 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,274,000 after buying an additional 86,571 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 1,058.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 411,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after buying an additional 375,890 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 2,163,743 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $16,444,000 after acquiring an additional 84,102 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 16.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,338,062 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,369,000 after acquiring an additional 481,359 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biotechnology company, develops oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics to treat rare diseases. The company markets peramivir injection, an intravenous neuraminidase inhibitor for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza under the RAPIVAB, RAPIACTA, and PERAMIFLU names; and ORLADEYO, an oral serine protease inhibitor to treat hereditary angioedema.