Wellington Management Group LLP Buys New Stake in Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. $ACHV

Key Points

• Wellington Management acquired 1.43 million Achieve Life Sciences shares worth approximately $9.3 million, giving it a 1.39% stake. Other institutional investors, including BlackRock and venBio Partners, also initiated positions; institutions now own 33.52% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $15.00, though Wall Street Zen and Weiss Ratings issued bearish assessments.
• Achieve reported a quarterly loss of $0.80 per share, missing the consensus estimate of a $0.16 loss. The company is developing cytisinicline, a potential smoking-cessation treatment.

Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,426,915 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $9,318,000. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 1.39% of Achieve Life Sciences at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Spruce Street Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth about $4,810,240. venBio Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,623,122. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Achieve Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $506,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth approximately $34,426,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth approximately $17,964,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ACHV. Wall Street Zen downgraded Achieve Life Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $15.00.

Insider Activity at Achieve Life Sciences

In other news, Director Richard Stewart sold 20,626 shares of Achieve Life Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.49, for a total value of $175,114.74. Following the sale, the director 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Achieve Life Sciences Price Performance

Achieve Life Sciences stock opened at $7.84 on Wednesday. Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2.62 and a 12 month high of $8.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $806.75 million, a PE ratio of -5.06 and a beta of 2.25.

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

Achieve Life Sciences Company Profile

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc NASDAQ: ACHV is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of cytisinicline, a plant-derived alkaloid for smoking cessation. The company’s mission is to offer a novel, evidence-based therapy that addresses the global need for effective and well-tolerated smoking cessation options. Achieve focuses its efforts on advancing the clinical profile of cytisinicline through rigorous development programs and regulatory engagement.

Cytisinicline (formerly marketed as Tabex® in Europe) acts as a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, helping reduce withdrawal symptoms and nicotine cravings.

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