Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) Stock Price Up 3.2% – Should You Buy?

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV)’s share price was up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $7.24 and last traded at $7.2540. 121,677 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 1,355,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Achieve Life Sciences and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Achieve Life Sciences Stock Down 0.7%

The company has a market cap of $739.85 million, a P/E ratio of -4.64 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $7.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.89.

Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). On average, analysts anticipate that Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard Stewart sold 20,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.49, for a total transaction of $175,114.74. Following the transaction, the director owned 208,249 shares in the company, valued at $1,768,034.01. This represents a 9.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Achieve Life Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,725,000. venBio Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth $38,623,122. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth $34,426,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter valued at $17,964,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Achieve Life Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $12,575,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.52% of the company’s stock.

Achieve Life Sciences Company Profile

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing cytisinicline, a plant-based investigational therapy intended to help adults quit smoking and address nicotine addiction. Cytisinicline is designed to act on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the brain, potentially reducing nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms while helping limit the satisfaction associated with smoking.

The company’s primary development program is aimed at securing regulatory approval for cytisinicline in the United States.