BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $9.00 and last traded at $8.61, with a volume of 3718403 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One 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 a consensus price target of $15.50.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $7.67 and a 200-day moving average of $7.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.11 and a beta of 1.75.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07). The company had revenue of $117.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.99 million. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. On average, analysts predict that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCRX. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,837,985 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $36,776,000 after purchasing an additional 127,708 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,338,062 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,369,000 after buying an additional 481,359 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,181,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $16,576,000 after buying an additional 261,500 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 2,163,743 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $16,444,000 after acquiring an additional 84,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,988,389 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,112,000 after acquiring an additional 46,110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

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.