StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX)

Investment analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX – Get Rating) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 16th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.78.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of BCRX opened at $8.10 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.62. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $7.61 and a 1-year high of $18.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.09 and a beta of 2.03.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $79.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.18 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.40) earnings per share. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 68.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jon P. Stonehouse sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.38, for a total transaction of $1,038,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,008,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,470,710.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCRX. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Natixis acquired a new position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,582 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. 79.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

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BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a commercial-stage biotechnology company that discovers novel, oral, and small-molecule medicines. The firm focuses on the treatment of rare diseases in which unmet medical needs exist and an enzyme in the biological pathway of the disease. Its programs include BCX9930, an oral Factor D inhibitor for the treatment of complement-mediated diseases, BCX9250, an ALK-2 inhibitor for the treatment of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, and galidesivir, a potential treatment for marburg virus disease and yellow fever.