Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) Director Buys $1,040,081.28 in Stock

Benitec Biopharma Limited (NASDAQ:BNTC) Director Suvretta Capital Management, L purchased 77,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.44 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,081.28. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,700,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,370,620.80. The trade was a 0.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Suvretta Capital Management, L also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, December 26th, Suvretta Capital Management, L acquired 16,836 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.10 per share, with a total value of $220,551.60.
• On Tuesday, December 23rd, Suvretta Capital Management, L bought 50,000 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $642,500.00.
• On Monday, December 22nd, Suvretta Capital Management, L bought 19,542 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.08 per share, for a total transaction of $236,067.36.
• On Friday, December 19th, Suvretta Capital Management, L purchased 16,384 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.48 per share, with a total value of $188,088.32.
• On Thursday, December 18th, Suvretta Capital Management, L acquired 10,215 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.24 per share, with a total value of $114,816.60.
• On Friday, November 7th, Suvretta Capital Management, L acquired 1,481,481 shares of Benitec Biopharma stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.50 per share, for a total transaction of $19,999,993.50.

Benitec Biopharma Price Performance

Shares of BNTC traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $13.49. 200,584 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 243,420. Benitec Biopharma Limited has a twelve month low of $9.70 and a twelve month high of $17.15. The company has a market capitalization of $456.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.15 and a beta of 0.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $13.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.36.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by $0.13. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Benitec Biopharma Limited will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Infinitum Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 435.7% during the 1st quarter. Infinitum Asset Management LLC now owns 1,125,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,636,000 after buying an additional 915,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Benitec Biopharma by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 992,114 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,919,000 after acquiring an additional 22,948 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Benitec Biopharma by 77.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 415,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,859,000 after acquiring an additional 181,391 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 40.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 154,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 44,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Benitec Biopharma by 35.2% in the first quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 137,977 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,795,000 after purchasing an additional 35,950 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BNTC. JMP Securities set a $22.00 target price on Benitec Biopharma in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Benitec Biopharma from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on Benitec Biopharma from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $29.00 target price (down from $35.00) on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.25.

About Benitec Biopharma

Benitec Biopharma Ltd (NASDAQ: BNTC) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing gene-silencing therapies for serious human diseases. The company’s proprietary DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi) platform is designed to enable sustained expression of small RNA molecules that specifically target and silence disease-causing genes. By integrating RNAi sequences directly into DNA constructs, ddRNAi aims to provide a long-term therapeutic effect from a single administration.

Benitec’s lead programs include development of ddRNAi candidates for chronic hepatitis B virus infection and for certain ocular conditions.