Milestone Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MIST) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Milestone (NASDAQ:MIST) from "hold" to "sell", though analyst coverage remains mixed with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a $7.50 average price target.
• The company reported Q results showing EPS of -$0.16 (vs. -$0.18 consensus) but revenue of $1.44M far below the $37.52M estimate; the stock opened around $2.02 with a market cap near $237.7M.
• Insider selling was noted—CEO Joseph Oliveto sold 34,523 shares in January and insiders sold 70,193 shares over 90 days—while institutional investors own a large stake (reported ~86.2%).

Milestone Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MIST - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

MIST has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Milestone Pharmaceuticals from $4.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Milestone Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Milestone Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research lowered shares of Milestone Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Milestone Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Milestone Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.50.

Milestone Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5%

MIST stock opened at $2.02 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $1.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.69 million, a PE ratio of -2.56 and a beta of 0.69. Milestone Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $0.71 and a 12 month high of $3.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 8.01 and a quick ratio of 7.96.

Milestone Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MIST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.52 million. Equities analysts expect that Milestone Pharmaceuticals will post -0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Milestone Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Joseph Oliveto sold 34,523 shares of Milestone Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.93, for a total value of $66,629.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 482,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $931,695.92. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,193 shares of company stock valued at $135,472. Insiders own 19.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MIST. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Milestone Pharmaceuticals by 74.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,410 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Milestone Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 43,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Milestone Pharmaceuticals by 553.5% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 110,699 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Milestone Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Milestone Pharmaceuticals by 186.2% in the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,832,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,666,000 after buying an additional 1,842,974 shares during the period. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Milestone Pharmaceuticals

Milestone Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies for respiratory diseases. The company's research emphasizes both biologic and small-molecule approaches designed to improve mucociliary clearance, reduce airway inflammation and address chronic and refractory cough. Milestone's pipeline targets key underserved conditions such as cystic fibrosis, primary ciliary dyskinesia and severe asthma.

Milestone's lead product candidates are delivered through inhalation or systemic administration, reflecting the company's commitment to optimizing therapeutic delivery directly to the lungs.

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