Short Interest in Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC) Increases By 23.6%

Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 216,100 shares, a growth of 23.6% from the February 28th total of 174,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 50,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BNTC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Benitec Biopharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L acquired 900,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.00 per share, with a total value of $11,700,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,793,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,312,185. This represents a 11.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Benitec Biopharma

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 269.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,939,287 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,142,643 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 198.5% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,616,427 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739,904 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 134.4% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,972,524 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,129 shares during the last quarter. Infinitum Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Benitec Biopharma in the fourth quarter valued at $2,652,000. Finally, Suvretta Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 8,960,009 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $113,165,000 after purchasing an additional 130,956 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.19% of the company’s stock.

Benitec Biopharma Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BNTC opened at $12.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $294.31 million, a P/E ratio of -8.31 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.22. Benitec Biopharma has a 52-week low of $4.75 and a 52-week high of $16.90.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.55) by $0.19. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Benitec Biopharma will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

About Benitec Biopharma

Benitec Biopharma Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development of novel genetic medicines. The company develops DNA-directed RNA interference-based therapeutics for chronic and life-threatening human conditions. It is developing BB-301, an adeno-associated virus based gene therapy agent for treating oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.