BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $8.05, but opened at $8.49. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $7.97, with a volume of 798,615 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCRX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.60.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of -12.57 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.56.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07). The business had revenue of $117.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.99 million. The business's revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.19) EPS. Equities analysts expect that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 1,058.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 411,414 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 375,890 shares during the last quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $1,493,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 177.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 263,748 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 168,790 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 78.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,389 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 20,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 30.0% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 3,000 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.