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

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $21.47, but opened at $22.55. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $25.01, with a volume of 81,859 shares.

The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.09. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 7.31% and a negative net margin of 2.36%. The company had revenue of $137.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $128.35 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 72.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $38.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals

In other Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals news, COO Eben Tessari sold 14,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.57, for a total value of $273,980.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 81,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,604,250.75. This trade represents a 14.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ross Moat sold 18,259 shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.29, for a total transaction of $370,475.11. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $191,030.35. This trade represents a 65.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 218,548 shares of company stock valued at $5,210,745 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 54.57% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KNSA. Braidwell LP raised its holdings in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,452,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,289,000 after acquiring an additional 557,934 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 477,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,451,000 after purchasing an additional 277,827 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 779,672 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,422,000 after purchasing an additional 263,146 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,955,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 225,000 shares of the company's stock worth $4,450,000 after buying an additional 135,000 shares during the last quarter. 53.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of -198.13 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.35.

About Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, acquiring, developing, and commercializing therapeutic medicines for patients suffering from debilitating diseases with significant unmet medical needs worldwide. Its product candidates include ARCALYST, an interleukin-1alpha and interleukin-1beta, for the treatment of recurrent pericarditis, which is an inflammatory cardiovascular disease; Mavrilimumab, a monoclonal antibody inhibitor that completed Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of giant cell arteritis; Vixarelimab, a monoclonal antibody, that is in Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of prurigo nodularis, a chronic inflammatory skin condition; and KPL-404, a monoclonal antibody inhibitor of the CD40- CD154 interaction, a T-cell co-stimulatory signal critical for B-cell maturation, immunoglobulin class switching, and type 1 immune response.