BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) Stake Boosted by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) by 68.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,516 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,420 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals worth $1,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals by 80.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,198 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 4,537 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Syon Capital LLC acquired a new stake in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $10.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.00 and a beta of 1.08. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.92 and a 52-week high of $11.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.97.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $126.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 40.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BCRX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 price objective (up from $11.00) on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.56.

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.