Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (ACHV) - What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Nine analysts give Achieve Life Sciences an average “Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $15.50. However, some firms maintain sell or strong-sell views.
• Institutional ownership increased significantly: Several major investors, including Frazier Life Sciences Management, venBio Partners and BlackRock, initiated positions during the second quarter; institutions now own 33.52% of the stock.
• Financial performance remains weak: ACHV recently traded at $6.97 and reported quarterly EPS of -$0.80, missing the -$0.16 consensus estimate. The company is developing cytisinicline, an investigational therapy for smoking cessation and nicotine addiction.

Shares of Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Buy" from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

ACHV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Achieve Life Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Achieve Life Sciences news, Director Richard Stewart sold 20,626 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.49, for a total transaction of $175,114.74. Following the sale, the director directly owned 208,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,768,034.01. The trade was a 9.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Achieve Life Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ACHV. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,725,000. venBio Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,623,122. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Achieve Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,426,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth $17,964,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth $12,575,000. 33.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Achieve Life Sciences Stock Performance

ACHV opened at $6.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $717.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.50 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $7.62 and a 200 day moving average of $6.03. Achieve Life Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $2.62 and a fifty-two week high of $8.64.

Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.64). As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Achieve Life Sciences will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Achieve Life Sciences

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing cytisinicline, a plant-based investigational therapy intended to help adults quit smoking and address nicotine addiction. Cytisinicline is designed to act on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the brain, potentially reducing nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms while helping limit the satisfaction associated with smoking.

The company's primary development program is aimed at securing regulatory approval for cytisinicline in the United States.

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