BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:BCRX)

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 6,158 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 593% compared to the average volume of 888 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,483 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 80.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,198 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 4,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BCRX traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $8.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,214,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,386,429. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $7.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.70. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.38 and a beta of 1.75. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $4.03 and a 12 month high of $9.00.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.07) 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. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.19) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.