Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $7.69, but opened at $8.08. Achieve Life Sciences shares last traded at $8.0310, with a volume of 186,199 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ACHV. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a report on Thursday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $18.00 price target on shares of Achieve Life Sciences and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

Achieve Life Sciences Trading Up 4.2%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $7.40 and its 200-day moving average is $5.73. The firm has a market cap of $824.74 million, a P/E ratio of -5.16 and a beta of 2.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.64). Analysts predict that Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. will post -0.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Achieve Life Sciences

In related news, Director Richard Stewart sold 20,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.49, for a total value of $175,114.74. Following the sale, the director owned 208,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,768,034.01. The trade was a 9.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new position in Achieve Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $49,725,000. venBio Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $38,623,122. Spruce Street Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth about $4,810,240. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth about $1,424,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences in the second quarter worth approximately $9,318,000. 33.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Achieve Life Sciences

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing cytisinicline, an investigational therapy designed to help adults stop smoking and address nicotine dependence. The company is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol ACHV.

Cytisinicline is a plant-derived small molecule that acts on neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors involved in nicotine addiction. Achieve is evaluating the therapy in clinical studies for smoking cessation and potential support for quitting other forms of nicotine use.