Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) Earns “Buy” Rating from HC Wainwright

Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $38.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 65.87% from the company’s previous close.

KOD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Chardan Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Lifesci Capital started coverage on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Kodiak Sciences from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.29.

Kodiak Sciences Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of KOD opened at $22.91 on Tuesday. Kodiak Sciences has a twelve month low of $1.92 and a twelve month high of $31.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.56 and a beta of 2.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.19.

Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($1.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.07) by ($0.09). Analysts predict that Kodiak Sciences will post -3.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kodiak Sciences news, Director Bros. Advisors Lp Baker bought 2,608,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.00 per share, with a total value of $60,000,008.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,358,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,251,756. This trade represents a 16.56% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 45.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kodiak Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,313,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,683,000 after acquiring an additional 363,103 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Kodiak Sciences by 55.1% in the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 2,055,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,668,000 after purchasing an additional 730,000 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 1.2% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,969,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,343,000 after acquiring an additional 23,742 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 298.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,303,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,433,000 after purchasing an additional 976,254 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Kodiak Sciences by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 897,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,105,000 after buying an additional 96,252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.06% of the company’s stock.

About Kodiak Sciences

Kodiak Sciences, Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, that focuses on the discovery and development of novel therapies for retinal diseases. The company’s proprietary technology centers on antibody biopolymer conjugates (ABCs), which are designed to extend durability, enhance tissue penetration and improve the safety profile of existing therapeutic modalities. Kodiak’s research and development efforts target conditions such as wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME) and other serious ophthalmic disorders.

The lead product candidate in Kodiak’s pipeline is KSI-301, an anti-VEGF antibody biopolymer conjugate administered via intravitreal injection.