Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Kiniksa from a Buy to a Hold; overall there are seven Buy, one Hold and one Sell rating, giving a consensus Moderate Buy with an average price target of $56.00.
• Kiniksa's latest quarter missed EPS ($0.17 vs. $0.29 expected) despite revenue rising 65% year-over-year to $202.13 million, and analysts project about $1.09 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Insider selling has been heavy—61,479 shares (~$2.83M) sold in the last 90 days, including large reductions by a director and the CEO—yet insiders still own about 53.48% of the company.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on KNSA. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.00.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International Price Performance

KNSA opened at $42.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 57.82 and a beta of 0.06. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International has a fifty-two week low of $20.19 and a fifty-two week high of $50.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.98 and a 200-day moving average of $42.79.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $202.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.86 million. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 11.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.12) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International news, Director Barry D. Quart sold 12,528 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.27, for a total value of $567,142.56. Following the sale, the director owned 12,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $567,957.42. The trade was a 49.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sanj K. Patel sold 7,278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $363,972.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 7,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $363,972.78. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. 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 61,479 shares of company stock valued at $2,832,812 in the last ninety days. 53.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC raised its position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 16,350 shares of the company's stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 13,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 16,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 140.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 911 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.95% of the company's stock.

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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