Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Buy”: Of eight covering firms, five recommend buying, two strongly recommend buying, and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $15, well above the reported $7.98 opening price.
• Achieve Life Sciences reported a significant earnings miss: Quarterly EPS was a loss of $0.80, compared with analysts’ expected loss of $0.16; analysts project a full-year loss of $0.91 per share.
• Institutional interest has increased: Hedge funds and other institutions own 33.52% of the company, with several investors—including Frazier Life Sciences Management and Alyeska Investment Group—establishing new positions.

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.00.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Achieve Life Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 12th.

Achieve Life Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of ACHV opened at $7.98 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $821.14 million, a P/E ratio of -5.15 and a beta of 2.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.56. Achieve Life Sciences has a twelve month low of $2.62 and a twelve month high of $8.64.

Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.64). On average, research analysts anticipate that Achieve Life Sciences will post -0.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Achieve Life Sciences

In other Achieve Life Sciences news, Director Richard Stewart sold 20,626 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.49, for a total value of $175,114.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 208,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,768,034.01. This represents a 9.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Achieve Life Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ACHV. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Achieve Life Sciences in the second quarter worth about $278,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,725,000. AXQ Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Achieve Life Sciences by 65.6% during the 2nd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 25,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 9,972 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,575,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,318,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.52% of the company's stock.

Achieve Life Sciences Company Profile

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing cytisinicline, an investigational therapy designed to help adults stop smoking and address nicotine dependence. The company is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol ACHV.

Cytisinicline is a plant-derived small molecule that acts on neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors involved in nicotine addiction. Achieve is evaluating the therapy in clinical studies for smoking cessation and potential support for quitting other forms of nicotine use.

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