Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• EPS beat and stock jump: Kiniksa reported Q EPS of $0.27 vs. a $0.21 consensus and revenue of $214.3M (vs. $207.1M), with revenue up 55.5% year‑over‑year; the stock gapped up from $43.61 to $47.20 and last traded near $51.26 on heavy volume.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive — seven Buys, one Hold and one Sell — yielding an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a mean target price of $56, with recent raises to $58 and $62 by some firms.
• Notable insider and institutional activity: insiders sold about 61,479 shares (~$2.83M) in the past 90 days though insiders still own ~53.5% of the stock, while institutional/hedge fund ownership is roughly 53.95% (market cap ≈ $4.0B, PE ~70).

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $43.61, but opened at $47.20. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International shares last traded at $51.2570, with a volume of 696,160 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $214.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $207.12 million. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 11.48%. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International's revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on KNSA. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

In other news, Director Barry D. Quart sold 12,528 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.27, for a total transaction of $567,142.56. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $567,957.42. This represents a 49.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael R. Megna sold 6,625 shares of the company'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 approximately $1,280,146.42. This trade represents a 19.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,479 shares of company stock worth $2,832,812. Company insiders own 53.48% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 277.8% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 888,364 shares of the company's stock worth $24,581,000 after buying an additional 653,236 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,909,806 shares of the company's stock worth $108,184,000 after buying an additional 526,567 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 213.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 657,475 shares of the company's stock worth $18,192,000 after buying an additional 447,536 shares in the last quarter. Spruce Street Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in the 4th quarter worth about $17,943,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 288.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 541,396 shares of the company's stock worth $22,333,000 after buying an additional 402,078 shares in the last quarter. 53.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $45.94 and its 200 day moving average is $42.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 70.03 and a beta of 0.06.

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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