Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Kiniksa from a "hold" to a Buy
• Kiniksa reported quarterly EPS of $0.17 (missed the $0.29 estimate) while revenue rose 65% year-over-year to $202.13M (slightly above consensus); analysts forecast -0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Insiders sold 61,479 shares (about $2.83M) in the last quarter—including CAO and CFO sales—though corporate insiders still hold 53.48% of the company and institutional ownership is roughly 53.95%.

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

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on KNSA. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in a report on Thursday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.00.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International Stock Down 0.9%

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International stock opened at $44.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.68 and a beta of 0.06. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International has a twelve month low of $19.62 and a twelve month high of $50.03. The company's 50-day moving average price is $46.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.60.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.12). The company 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 firm's revenue was up 65.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.12) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Michael R. Megna sold 6,625 shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.69, for a total value of $309,321.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,280,146.42. The trade was a 19.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Mark Ragosa sold 17,845 shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.28, for a total transaction of $772,331.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 12,086 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $523,082.08. The trade was a 59.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 61,479 shares of company stock valued at $2,832,812 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 53.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 281.9% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 77,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,028,000 after acquiring an additional 57,566 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc bought a new position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,163,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 176.1% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 282,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,961,000 after acquiring an additional 180,029 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 44.3% in the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 247,301 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,603,000 after acquiring an additional 75,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,480,000. 53.95% of the stock is 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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