Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 11,400 Krystal Biotech, Inc. $KRYS

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System initiated a new position in Krystal Biotech, buying 11,400 shares valued at about $2.95 million in the first quarter.
• Krystal Biotech has attracted strong Wall Street support, with 10 Buy ratings and 2 Hold ratings; the consensus view is Moderate Buy and the average price target is $340.56.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $1.83 per share on revenue of $116.36 million, while the stock recently traded near its 52-week high after opening at $372.25.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Krystal Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRYS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,945,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Krystal Biotech by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 144 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc increased its position in Krystal Biotech by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 2,855 shares of the company's stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Krystal Biotech by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,211,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Krystal Biotech by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,075,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Krystal Biotech by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 86.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KRYS has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Krystal Biotech from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Krystal Biotech from $310.00 to $361.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Krystal Biotech in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Krystal Biotech from $371.00 to $378.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Krystal Biotech from $306.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Charles Thomas sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.27, for a total transaction of $347,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $347,270. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suma Krishnan sold 25,000 shares of Krystal Biotech stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.11, for a total value of $7,702,750.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,378,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $424,623,337.05. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 26,642 shares of company stock worth $8,243,923 in the last quarter. 13.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Krystal Biotech Price Performance

KRYS opened at $372.25 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.77 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's 50 day moving average is $304.72 and its 200-day moving average is $276.99. Krystal Biotech, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.50 and a 52-week high of $376.28.

Krystal Biotech (NASDAQ:KRYS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $116.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.11 million. Krystal Biotech had a net margin of 53.92% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Equities analysts expect that Krystal Biotech, Inc. will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Krystal Biotech Company Profile

Krystal Biotech, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for rare dermatological diseases. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company applies proprietary viral vector delivery technology to enable topical administration of corrective genes directly to the skin. By targeting the underlying genetic causes of inherited skin disorders, Krystal Biotech seeks to address areas of high unmet medical need with potentially transformative treatments.

The company's lead product candidate, KB103, is designed to deliver a functional COL7A1 gene to patients with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), a severe and often debilitating blistering condition.

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