Short Interest in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) Decreases By 9.1%

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,720,000 shares, a decline of 9.1% from the December 15th total of 17,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.17.

Institutional Trading of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C increased its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 8,135,804 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $50,279,000 after buying an additional 3,140,804 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,837,985 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,776,000 after acquiring an additional 127,708 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 16.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,338,062 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,369,000 after purchasing an additional 481,359 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 261,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 2,163,743 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,444,000 after purchasing an additional 84,102 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.5 %

NASDAQ BCRX traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $7.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,962,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,628,471. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $4.03 and a 1 year high of $8.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $7.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.62.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.07). The company had revenue of $117.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.99 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.