Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) Given New $215.00 Price Target at Leerink Partners

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) had its target price increased by Leerink Partners from $185.00 to $215.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Belite Bio from $201.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Mizuho increased their target price on Belite Bio from $220.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Belite Bio in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Belite Bio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.27.

Belite Bio Price Performance

Shares of BLTE stock opened at $164.35 on Friday. Belite Bio has a one year low of $105.88 and a one year high of $200.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $160.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.24. The company has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -60.20 and a beta of -1.19.

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.19. Equities research analysts expect that Belite Bio will post -3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Belite Bio

In related news, CEO Yu-Hsin Lin sold 74,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.71, for a total value of $13,972,193.85. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 96,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,045,313.14. The trade was a 43.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hendrik Scholl sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.32, for a total transaction of $82,660.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 14,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,140. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 168,330 shares of company stock valued at $31,969,118. 13.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Belite Bio

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLTE. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Belite Bio in the 3rd quarter valued at about $15,282,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in Belite Bio by 225.0% during the first quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 65,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after acquiring an additional 45,000 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new position in shares of Belite Bio during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,711,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Belite Bio during the first quarter valued at $8,291,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Belite Bio by 6.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,781,000 after acquiring an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Belite Bio

Investors following BLTE have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Belite reported a third-quarter loss of $0.60 per share, narrower than analysts’ expected loss of $0.79, providing a modest earnings beat. Quarterly earnings results
• Neutral Sentiment: Shares were reported to have moved above their 200-day moving average, a technical signal that some investors may view as supportive, though it does not change the company’s fundamentals. Moving average article
• Negative Sentiment: The company recorded a $30.3 million quarterly net loss, underscoring the costs and risks of developing its drug candidate before potential commercialization. Quarterly loss report

About Belite Bio

Belite Bio, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for retinal and metabolic diseases. The company focuses on conditions with limited treatment options, including inherited retinal disorders and age-related eye disease. Its lead drug candidate, tinlarebant, is an oral therapy designed to reduce the accumulation of toxic vitamin A byproducts in the retina. Belite Bio is evaluating tinlarebant for Stargardt disease and geographic atrophy associated with dry age-related macular degeneration.