Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Jefferies Financial Group Analyst Says

Key Points

• Jefferies raised its price target on Kiniksa to $71 (from $58) and maintained a "buy" rating, implying about a 32% upside
• Kiniksa beat quarterly estimates with $0.27 EPS vs. $0.21 expected and $214.27M revenue (up 55.5% year-over-year), and the stock surged ~23.3% to $53.78 on heavy trading volume.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently: the CEO sold 7,278 shares and a director sold 12,528 shares, with insiders selling 61,479 shares worth about $2.83M over the past 90 days.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $58.00 to $71.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective points to a potential upside of 32.03% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on KNSA. Wedbush raised their price target on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.43.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International Stock Up 23.3%

NASDAQ:KNSA traded up $10.17 on Tuesday, reaching $53.78. The stock had a trading volume of 2,307,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,927. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.24 and a beta of 0.06. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International has a 1-year low of $22.23 and a 1-year high of $53.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.86.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $214.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.12 million. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 11.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sanj K. Patel sold 7,278 shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at $363,972.78. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Barry D. Quart sold 12,528 shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $567,957.42. This represents a 49.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,479 shares of company stock valued at $2,832,812. 53.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 140.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 911 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Nano Cap New Millennium Growth Fund L P bought a new position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 53.95% of the stock is currently owned by 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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