Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Position in Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:BNTC - Free Report) by 269.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,939,287 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 2,142,643 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 12.66% of Benitec Biopharma worth $37,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Separately, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Benitec Biopharma by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 83,987 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 20,012 shares during the period. 52.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BNTC. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Baird R W raised shares of Benitec Biopharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Benitec Biopharma from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Benitec Biopharma in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Benitec Biopharma has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.71.

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Benitec Biopharma Stock Down 5.2 %

Benitec Biopharma stock traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.54. 7,999 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,949. The company has a market cap of $270.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.71 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.37. Benitec Biopharma Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.75 and a 12-month high of $16.90.

Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by $0.19. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Benitec Biopharma Inc. will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Benitec Biopharma

In other Benitec Biopharma news, Director Suvretta Capital Management, L bought 900,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.00 per share, for a total transaction of $11,700,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,793,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,312,185. The trade was a 11.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

About Benitec Biopharma

Benitec Biopharma Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development of novel genetic medicines. The company develops DNA-directed RNA interference-based therapeutics for chronic and life-threatening human conditions. It is developing BB-301, an adeno-associated virus based gene therapy agent for treating oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.