BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCRX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price 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. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of 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 six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.50.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $7.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of -14.29 and a beta of 1.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Counterweight Ventures LLC lifted its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 591.7% in the 3rd quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC now owns 93,384 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $710,000 after buying an additional 79,884 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 299,152 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,274,000 after acquiring an additional 86,571 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 1,058.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 411,414 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 375,890 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 2,163,743 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $16,444,000 after purchasing an additional 84,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 481,359 shares during the period. 85.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.