Analysts: BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) Stock Could Go to 15.00

Analysts are weighing in on how BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) , might perform in the near term. Wall Street analysts have a much less favorable assessment of the stock, with a mean rating of 2.6. The stock is rated as buy by 3 analysts, with 1 outperform and 5 hold rating. The rating score is on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 stands for strong buy and 5 stands for strong sell.

For the current quarter, the 9.00 analysts offering adjusted EPS forecast have a consensus estimate of $-0.26 a share, which would compare with $0.06 in the same quarter last year. They have a high estimate of $-0.23 and a low estimate of $-0.30. Revenue for the period is expected to total nearly $3.92M from $25.84M the year-ago period.

For the full year, 9.00 Wall Street analysts forecast this company would deliver earnings of -1.06 per share, with a high estimate of $-0.94 and a low estimate of $-1.22. It had reported earnings per share of $-0.59 in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Revenue for the period is expected to total nearly $19.13M versus 48.26M in the preceding year.

The analysts project the company to maintain annual growth of around 19.90% percent over the next five years as compared to an average growth rate of 25.56% percent expected for its competitors in the same industry.

Among the 8 analysts Data provided by Thomson/First Call tracks, the 12-month average price target for BCRX is $6.75 but some analysts are projecting the price to go as high as $15.00. If the optimistic analysts are correct, that represents a 344 percent upside potential from the recent closing price of $3.38. Some sell-side analysts, particularly the bearish ones, have called for $2.00 price targets on shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) .

In the last reported results, the company reported earnings of $0.06 per share, while analysts were calling for share earnings of $-0.22. It was an earnings surprise of 127.30%percent. In the matter of earnings surprises, the term Cockroach Effect is often implied. Cockroach Effect is a market theory that suggests that when a company reveals bad news to the public, there may be many more related negative events that have yet to be revealed. In the case of earnings surprises, if a company is suggesting a negative earnings surprise it means there are more to come.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, designs, optimizes, and develops small molecule drugs that block key enzymes involved in the pathogenesis of diseases. Its product candidates include peramivir, an intravenous neuraminidase inhibitor, which is approved for uncomplicated seasonal and acute influenza; BCX4161, an oral serine protease inhibitor, which is in Phase II/III clinical trial for hereditary angioedema (HAE); BCX7353, an oral serine protease inhibitor, which is in Phase II clinical trial for HAE; and other second generation HAE compounds, an oral serine protease inhibitor, which is in preclinical stage. The companys product candidates also comprise BCX4430, an RNA dependent-RNA polymerase inhibitor that is in Phase I clinical trial for treating Filoviruses, including Ebola and Marburg viruses; and forodesine, an oral purine nucleoside phosphorylase inhibitor that is in preparation to file for regulatory approval. It has collaborative relationships with Mundipharma International Holdings Limited for the development and commercialization of forodesine; Shionogi & Co., Ltd. and Green Cross Corporation for the development and commercialization of peramivir in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea; and Seqirus UK Limited for the development and commercialization of RAPIVAB worldwide, except Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and Israel. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.