Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Belite Bio, Inc (NASDAQ:BLTE)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $67.45, but opened at $65.61. Belite Bio shares last traded at $66.46, with a volume of 1,656 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by ($0.02).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a report on Tuesday. Benchmark upped their price objective on Belite Bio from $57.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Belite Bio in a research note on Tuesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Belite Bio

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Belite Bio by 130.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 8,280 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Belite Bio during the third quarter valued at $253,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Belite Bio by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,157,000 after purchasing an additional 4,891 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Belite Bio by 28.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 4,415 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in Belite Bio in the 4th quarter valued at about $155,000. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Belite Bio Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -61.60 and a beta of -1.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.61.

About Belite Bio

Belite Bio, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical drug development company, engages in the research and development of novel therapeutics targeting retinal degenerative eye diseases with unmet medical needs in the United States. The company’s lead product candidate is LBS-008 (Tinlarebant), an orally administered once-a-day tablet for maintaining the health and integrity of retinal tissues in autosomal recessive Stargardt disease and geographic atrophy patients.