Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc (NASDAQ:KNSA) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with seven buy ratings and two hold ratings among nine covering brokerages. The average 1-year price target is about $60.86.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.27 versus the $0.18 estimate and revenue of $214.27 million versus expectations of $206.11 million. Revenue also rose 55.5% year over year.
• Despite solid fundamentals, the stock has seen notable insider selling, including large sales by the CAO and another insider, while insiders still own about 51.98% of the company. Institutional investors also hold a significant stake at 53.95%.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.8571.

KNSA has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research raised Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $58.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International Stock Performance

Shares of KNSA stock opened at $53.24 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $49.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.91. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.16 and a beta of 0.17. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International has a 1 year low of $25.70 and a 1 year high of $59.87.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $214.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.11 million. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International had a return on equity of 13.26% and a net margin of 9.69%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Michael R. Megna sold 6,625 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 27,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,280,146.42. This trade represents a 19.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John F. Paolini sold 58,424 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.71, for a total value of $3,137,953.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 65,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,524,611.33. This represents a 47.10% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 653,301 shares of company stock valued at $34,046,073. Insiders own 51.98% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 16,350 shares of the company's stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 2.0% in 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 during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 3.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 2.5% in the fourth 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. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 7.1% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.95% of the company's stock.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International Company Profile

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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