Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA) has been upgraded to a strong-buy rating by Wall Street Zen, moving from a previous "buy" rating.
• Wells Fargo raised its price target for KNSA from $30 to $42, while Jefferies increased it from $45 to $54, indicating strong analyst support for the stock.
• In the latest quarter, Kiniksa reported earnings per share of $0.23, exceeding expectations and achieving revenue of $156.8 million.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

KNSA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $30.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.17.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International Stock Performance

NASDAQ KNSA opened at $31.98 on Friday. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International has a 52-week low of $17.82 and a 52-week high of $32.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.07. The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 799.70 and a beta of 0.14.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.05. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International had a net margin of 0.90% and a return on equity of 1.05%. The business had revenue of $156.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.21 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International will post -0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

In other news, CFO Mark Ragosa sold 18,299 shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,009 shares in the company, valued at $777,859.20. This trade represents a 40.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael R. Megna sold 17,647 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.69, for a total transaction of $470,998.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 32,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $868,652.74. This trade represents a 35.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 320,981 shares of company stock valued at $9,189,467. 53.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 84.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE bought a new position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Wealthquest Corp bought a new position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 53.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

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.

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