BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,770,000 shares, a growth of 23.5% from the February 28th total of 16,010,000 shares. Currently, 10.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:BCRX traded down $0.10 on Thursday, reaching $7.33. 3,074,275 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,772,637. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.82. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $4.03 and a 52 week high of $9.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.02 and a beta of 1.84.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $131.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $126.64 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 40.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals will post -0.36 EPS for the current year.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BCRX shares. 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. Wedbush started coverage on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.57.

Institutional Trading of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 184,485 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 7,232 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 190.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 84,662 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 55,535 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 401,111 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,016,000 after buying an additional 11,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $3,385,000. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.