Short Interest in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) Drops By 9.1%

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,720,000 shares, a decline of 9.1% from the December 31st total of 17,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.50.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

BCRX opened at $7.90 on Friday. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $4.03 and a fifty-two week high of $8.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.95 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $7.63 and its 200 day moving average is $7.69.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,483 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 16,274 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 2,644 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 5.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 49,347 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 2,734 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 30.0% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 51,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 3,653 shares in the last quarter. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.