Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc (NASDAQ:KNSA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $50.03 and last traded at $49.55, with a volume of 790616 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.29.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International Stock Up 1.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 66.96 and a beta of 0.06. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.04.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $202.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.86 million. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International had a return on equity of 11.48% and a net margin of 8.71%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 65.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Barry D. Quart sold 2,690 shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $121,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,546 shares in the company, valued at $564,570. The trade was a 17.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mark Ragosa sold 17,845 shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.28, for a total transaction of $772,331.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 12,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $523,082.08. This represents a 59.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 48,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,122,646 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 53.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International during the 4th quarter worth about $267,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 6,656 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International during the fourth quarter worth $291,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.95% of the company’s stock.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International Company Profile

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, acquiring and developing therapeutics for patients suffering from lifethreatening and debilitating immune-mediated diseases. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, Kiniksa applies a patient-centric approach to build a diversified portfolio of marketed medicines and clinical-stage candidates targeting inflammation and immunology. The company’s core mission is to address complex conditions with significant unmet medical needs by advancing both novel and differentiated therapies.

The company’s lead marketed product is Ilaris (canakinumab), an interleukin-1β blocker licensed for the treatment of cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes, systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, adult-onset Still’s disease and Schnitzler syndrome.