Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from “strong sell” to “hold”, adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop. The stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and a consensus target price of $60.86.
• Kiniksa recently reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.27 versus estimates of $0.18 and revenue of $214.27 million versus estimates of $206.11 million. Revenue rose 55.5% year over year.
• The company’s shares were down 0.6% in Monday trading, opening at $53.34 after reaching a 52-week high of $59.87. Insider selling was also noted, though institutional ownership remains high at 53.95%.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

KNSA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $58.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.86.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ KNSA opened at $53.34 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.61. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 59.27 and a beta of 0.17. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International has a twelve month low of $25.70 and a twelve month high of $59.87.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $214.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.11 million. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International had a return on equity of 13.26% and a net margin of 9.69%.Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International's revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Michael R. Megna sold 6,625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.69, for a total transaction of $309,321.25. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,418 shares in the company, valued at $1,280,146.42. The trade was a 19.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Ross Moat sold 2,367 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total value of $114,988.86. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,368.82. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 653,301 shares of company stock worth $34,046,073 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 51.98% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KNSA. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 277.8% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 888,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,581,000 after purchasing an additional 653,236 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,909,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,184,000 after purchasing an additional 526,567 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 220.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 735,940 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,436,000 after purchasing an additional 506,576 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 213.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 657,475 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,192,000 after purchasing an additional 447,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spruce Street Capital LP purchased a new stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International during the 4th quarter valued at about $17,943,000. 53.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, acquiring and developing therapeutics for patients suffering from lifethreatening and debilitating immune-mediated diseases. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, Kiniksa applies a patient-centric approach to build a diversified portfolio of marketed medicines and clinical-stage candidates targeting inflammation and immunology. The company's core mission is to address complex conditions with significant unmet medical needs by advancing both novel and differentiated therapies.

The company's lead marketed product is Ilaris (canakinumab), an interleukin-1β blocker licensed for the treatment of cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes, systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, adult-onset Still's disease and Schnitzler syndrome.

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