Wall Street Zen Upgrades Anika Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ANIK) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Anika Therapeutics to “strong-buy” from “buy,” although analyst sentiment remains mixed: two analysts rate it a Buy and one rates it a Sell, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and a $21 average price target.
• Anika reported quarterly EPS of $0.42, exceeding the $0.03 consensus estimate, while revenue of $32.61 million also topped expectations of $29.21 million.
• The stock opened at $19.28, near its 12-month high of $19.29, after rising 6.7%; institutional investors own 91.53% of the shares, with several major funds recently increasing their positions.

Anika Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ANIK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ANIK. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Anika Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Barrington Research set a $21.00 price target on Anika Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Anika Therapeutics from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.00.

Anika Therapeutics Stock Up 6.7%

ANIK opened at $19.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $256.54 million, a PE ratio of -71.40 and a beta of 0.23. Anika Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $7.87 and a twelve month high of $19.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.75.

Anika Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ANIK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $32.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.21 million. Anika Therapeutics had a positive return on equity of 0.20% and a negative net margin of 3.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Anika Therapeutics will post -0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Anika Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Opaleye Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Anika Therapeutics by 49.1% in the 2nd quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 588,797 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,229,000 after acquiring an additional 193,797 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Anika Therapeutics by 153.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 164,926 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 99,951 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Anika Therapeutics by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 195,585 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,880,000 after purchasing an additional 85,771 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Anika Therapeutics by 171.0% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 134,768 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 85,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in Anika Therapeutics by 192.4% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 122,062 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 80,319 shares during the last quarter. 91.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Anika Therapeutics Company Profile

Anika Therapeutics, Inc is a life sciences company specializing in the development and commercialization of hyaluronic acid–based therapeutic products. The company focuses on orthobiologics and medical devices designed to support joint health, tissue repair and surgical applications. Anika's proprietary hyaluronan technology serves as the foundation for products aimed at alleviating pain associated with osteoarthritis and enhancing healing in musculoskeletal and ophthalmic surgeries.

The company's core product portfolio includes injectable viscosupplements such as Monovisc® and Orthovisc®, which are indicated for the relief of knee osteoarthritis pain, as well as Euflexxa®, approved for osteoarthritis of the knee in various international markets.

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