Achieve Life Sciences' (ACHV) Sell (D-) Rating Reaffirmed at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Achieve Life Sciences' stock has been reaffirmed with a "sell (D-)" rating by Weiss Ratings, highlighting ongoing concerns about the company's performance.
• HC Wainwright initiated coverage with a "buy" rating and set a target price of $12.00, contrasting with the current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Insider transactions show significant selling activity, with CEO Richard Alistair Stewart selling 129,501 shares, indicating a potential lack of confidence among company leadership.

Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating restated by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Separately, HC Wainwright started coverage on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Achieve Life Sciences presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.00.

Achieve Life Sciences Stock Up 4.4%

Achieve Life Sciences stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $3.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 504,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 648,351. The company has a market capitalization of $177.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 1.58. Achieve Life Sciences has a 12 month low of $1.84 and a 12 month high of $5.31. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $2.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 6.64 and a current ratio of 6.64.

Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.37). As a group, research analysts anticipate that Achieve Life Sciences will post -1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Achieve Life Sciences

In other Achieve Life Sciences news, insider Jaime Xinos sold 20,854 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.77, for a total value of $57,765.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 74,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $206,176.64. This trade represents a 21.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard Alistair Stewart sold 129,501 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.92, for a total transaction of $378,142.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 228,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $668,315. This represents a 36.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 381,972 shares of company stock worth $1,084,997. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Achieve Life Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ACHV. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences by 81.3% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,459,014 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $10,077,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000,079 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,652,000. Simplify Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences by 443.7% during the 2nd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,184,512 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,677,000 after acquiring an additional 966,667 shares during the period. Stonepine Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth $753,000. Finally, Nantahala Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Achieve Life Sciences by 37.4% during the first quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 898,885 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,400,000 after buying an additional 244,885 shares during the last quarter. 33.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Achieve Life Sciences Company Profile

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes cytisinicline for smoking cessation and nicotine addiction. The company offers cytisinicline, a plant-based alkaloid that interacts with nicotine receptors in the brain that reduce the severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

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