First Trust Advisors LP Buys 26,022 Shares of Krystal Biotech, Inc. $KRYS

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Krystal Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRYS) by 11.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 248,392 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,022 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Krystal Biotech were worth $43,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Soleus Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Krystal Biotech by 108.9% in the second quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 922,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,870,000 after buying an additional 481,200 shares during the period. Braidwell LP boosted its holdings in Krystal Biotech by 81.6% during the second quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 727,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,045,000 after buying an additional 327,067 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Krystal Biotech during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,861,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Krystal Biotech by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,355,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,306,000 after buying an additional 128,639 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Krystal Biotech by 552.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 112,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,448,000 after acquiring an additional 95,158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KRYS shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Krystal Biotech from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Krystal Biotech from $336.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Krystal Biotech from $310.00 to $371.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Krystal Biotech from $224.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Krystal Biotech from $206.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Krystal Biotech presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.25.

Insider Activity at Krystal Biotech

In related news, Director Dino A. Rossi sold 18,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.41, for a total transaction of $4,953,719.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 78,691 shares in the company, valued at $20,570,614.31. This trade represents a 19.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Suma Krishnan sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.21, for a total transaction of $6,580,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,403,155 shares in the company, valued at $369,324,427.55. This represents a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,164 shares of company stock valued at $34,538,578. Insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

Krystal Biotech Stock Performance

NASDAQ KRYS opened at $255.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.23 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $270.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.13. Krystal Biotech, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.80 and a 52-week high of $298.30.

Krystal Biotech (NASDAQ:KRYS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $107.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.30 million. Krystal Biotech had a net margin of 52.64% and a return on equity of 18.69%. On average, analysts predict that Krystal Biotech, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

About Krystal Biotech

Krystal Biotech, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for rare dermatological diseases. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company applies proprietary viral vector delivery technology to enable topical administration of corrective genes directly to the skin. By targeting the underlying genetic causes of inherited skin disorders, Krystal Biotech seeks to address areas of high unmet medical need with potentially transformative treatments.

The company’s lead product candidate, KB103, is designed to deliver a functional COL7A1 gene to patients with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), a severe and often debilitating blistering condition.