Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Achieve Life Sciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $13.00 price target on Achieve Life Sciences and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.00.

Achieve Life Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of ACHV opened at $7.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.93. The company has a market capitalization of $781.01 million, a P/E ratio of -4.90 and a beta of 2.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Achieve Life Sciences has a 1-year low of $2.46 and a 1-year high of $7.60.

Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.64). Sell-side analysts forecast that Achieve Life Sciences will post -0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Achieve Life Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ACHV. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,426,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Achieve Life Sciences by 18,747.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,369,193 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,715,000 after purchasing an additional 4,346,011 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Achieve Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth $17,964,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Achieve Life Sciences by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,461,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 311,925 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Achieve Life Sciences by 472.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,359,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,614 shares during the last quarter. 33.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Achieve Life Sciences

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ: ACHV) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of cytisinicline, a plant-derived alkaloid for smoking cessation. The company’s mission is to offer a novel, evidence-based therapy that addresses the global need for effective and well-tolerated smoking cessation options. Achieve focuses its efforts on advancing the clinical profile of cytisinicline through rigorous development programs and regulatory engagement.

Cytisinicline (formerly marketed as Tabex® in Europe) acts as a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, helping reduce withdrawal symptoms and nicotine cravings.