Short Interest in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) Decreases By 7.5%

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 20,830,000 shares, a decrease of 7.5% from the October 15th total of 22,530,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.7 days.

Institutional Trading of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCRX. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C lifted its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 62.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,140,804 shares during the period. Kynam Capital Management LP increased its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 41.9% during the first quarter. Kynam Capital Management LP now owns 6,527,491 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927,491 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 528.0% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 1,112,232 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,874,000 after purchasing an additional 935,132 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $25,369,000 after purchasing an additional 481,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 472.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 496,784 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,776,000 after buying an additional 409,938 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BCRX remained flat at $7.03 during trading on Monday. The stock had a trading volume of 705,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,938,466. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $4.03 and a 12 month high of $8.88. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $7.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of -11.52 and a beta of 1.89.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $117.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.99 million. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on BCRX shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.67.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.