Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Kodiak Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:KOD)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Barclays upgraded the stock from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating. The stock had previously closed at $15.49, but opened at $16.34. Barclays now has a $17.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $7.00. Kodiak Sciences shares last traded at $18.10, with a volume of 375,073 shares trading hands.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Kodiak Sciences from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Kodiak Sciences from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Kodiak Sciences in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kodiak Sciences presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kodiak Sciences

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KOD. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Kodiak Sciences by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 38,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 7,996 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Kodiak Sciences by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 67,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 9,433 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Kodiak Sciences by 148.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 81,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 49,019 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Kodiak Sciences by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 49,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 9,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Kodiak Sciences by 183.9% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 14,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 9,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.06% of the company’s stock.

Kodiak Sciences Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.20 and a 200-day moving average of $5.52. The stock has a market cap of $828.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.13 and a beta of 2.45.

Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The company reported ($1.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.01) by ($0.02). On average, research analysts anticipate that Kodiak Sciences Inc. will post -3.45 EPS for the current year.

About Kodiak Sciences

Kodiak Sciences Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, researches, develops, and commercializes therapeutics to treat retinal diseases. Its lead product candidate is tarcocimab tedromer (KSI-301), an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor antibody biopolymer that is in Phase IIb/III clinical study to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), as well as Phase III clinical study for the treatment of diabetic macular edema, naïve macular edema due to retinal vein occlusion, and non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy.