Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) Stock Price Down 5.1% Following Insider Selling

Belite Bio, Inc. Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BLTE) shares traded down 5.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $162.76 and last traded at $160.2150. 10,066 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 199,443 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.76.

Specifically, insider Nathan L. Mata sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.30, for a total value of $168,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,636,587.80. This represents a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Hao-Yuan Chuang sold 6,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.50, for a total transaction of $1,125,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 93,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,024,700. The trade was a 6.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In other Belite Bio news, Director Wan-Shan Chen sold 1,100 shares of Belite Bio stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.43, for a total transaction of $198,473.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,641,191.28. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BLTE. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Belite Bio from $191.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Belite Bio from $200.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on Belite Bio in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $223.00 target price on Belite Bio in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.33.

Belite Bio Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $170.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of -71.93 and a beta of -1.22.

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by $0.18. As a group, analysts anticipate that Belite Bio, Inc. Sponsored ADR will post -1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Belite Bio by 28,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Belite Bio by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Belite Bio during the 4th quarter worth about $103,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Belite Bio during the 4th quarter valued at about $108,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Belite Bio by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Belite Bio

Belite Bio, Inc (NASDAQ: BLTE) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing small molecule therapeutics for metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Leveraging a proprietary drug-discovery platform, the company aims to address conditions such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and obesity by targeting pathways involved in fibrosis, inflammation and metabolic regulation.

Belite Bio’s pipeline includes multiple candidates in preclinical and early clinical development stages.