Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA) Sets New 12-Month High After Earnings Beat

Key Points

• Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International reached a new 52-week high of $31.92 after announcing earnings of $0.23 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• Analysts have shown strong support for the stock, with multiple upgrades and an average target price of $39.67 from seven analysts.
• Insider trading activity saw the COO and CAO both sell significant shares, contributing to a total of 365,469 shares sold by insiders recently, indicating caution amidst positive stock performance.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $31.92 and last traded at $30.13, with a volume of 203102 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.04.

The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $156.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.21 million. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International had a return on equity of 1.05% and a net margin of 0.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on KNSA. Wall Street Zen raised Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $30.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael R. Megna sold 17,647 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.69, for a total transaction of $470,998.43. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 32,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $868,652.74. This trade represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mark Ragosa sold 18,299 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.80, for a total value of $527,011.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $777,859.20. The trade was a 40.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 320,981 shares of company stock worth $9,189,467. Corporate insiders own 53.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $158,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 477,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,451,000 after purchasing an additional 277,827 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 69,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 22,096 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 492,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,744,000 after purchasing an additional 9,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 965.2% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 127,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 115,223 shares in the last quarter. 53.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International Trading Up 5.7%

The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 799.70 and a beta of 0.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.07.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International Company Profile

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, acquiring, developing, and commercializing therapeutic medicines for patients suffering from debilitating diseases with significant unmet medical needs worldwide. Its product candidates include ARCALYST, an interleukin-1alpha and interleukin-1beta, for the treatment of recurrent pericarditis, which is an inflammatory cardiovascular disease; Mavrilimumab, a monoclonal antibody inhibitor that completed Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of giant cell arteritis; Vixarelimab, a monoclonal antibody, that is in Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of prurigo nodularis, a chronic inflammatory skin condition; and KPL-404, a monoclonal antibody inhibitor of the CD40- CD154 interaction, a T-cell co-stimulatory signal critical for B-cell maturation, immunoglobulin class switching, and type 1 immune response.