BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price objective on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright restated a buy rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $14.17.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $7.63. The stock had a trading volume of 2,179,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,400,497. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.13 and a beta of 1.88. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $4.03 and a one year high of $8.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $6.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.83.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $109.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals will post -0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Alan G. Levin bought 7,861 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.36 per share, for a total transaction of $49,995.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 44,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,888.36. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Alan G. Levin purchased 7,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.36 per share, for a total transaction of $49,995.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 44,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,888.36. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven K. Galson bought 21,940 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.49 per share, for a total transaction of $120,450.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 51,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,014.99. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 103,601 shares of company stock worth $596,338 in the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCRX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,763,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $106,405,000 after buying an additional 2,371,401 shares during the period. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,050,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $78,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500,000 shares during the period. Kynam Capital Management LP grew its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 41.9% in the 1st quarter. Kynam Capital Management LP now owns 6,527,491 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927,491 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP increased its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 5,718,477 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,254,000 after purchasing an additional 355,497 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $13,278,000. 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.