Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KNSA) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:KNSA) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $21.47, but opened at $22.55. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $25.01, with a volume of 81,859 shares traded.

The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $137.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.35 million. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 7.31% and a negative net margin of 2.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 72.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.25) earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup assumed coverage on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.00.

Insider Activity at Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Ross Moat sold 18,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.29, for a total transaction of $370,475.11. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $191,030.35. This represents a 65.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Eben Tessari sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.57, for a total value of $273,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 81,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,604,250.75. The trade was a 14.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,025 shares of company stock worth $2,372,610 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 54.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KNSA. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals by 84.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Wealthquest Corp bought a new position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $42,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $61,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $158,000. 53.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.2 %

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of -192.63 and a beta of 0.31.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, acquiring, developing, and commercializing therapeutic medicines for patients suffering from debilitating diseases with significant unmet medical needs worldwide. Its product candidates include ARCALYST, an interleukin-1alpha and interleukin-1beta, for the treatment of recurrent pericarditis, which is an inflammatory cardiovascular disease; Mavrilimumab, a monoclonal antibody inhibitor that completed Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of giant cell arteritis; Vixarelimab, a monoclonal antibody, that is in Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of prurigo nodularis, a chronic inflammatory skin condition; and KPL-404, a monoclonal antibody inhibitor of the CD40- CD154 interaction, a T-cell co-stimulatory signal critical for B-cell maturation, immunoglobulin class switching, and type 1 immune response.