Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc (NASDAQ:KNSA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $43.73 and last traded at $42.7640, with a volume of 103178 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $42.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Zacks Research lowered Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. TD Cowen started coverage on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in a report on Monday, September 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.62 and a beta of 0.02.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International (NASDAQ:KNSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $180.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.64 million. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 6.01%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 61.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International, plc will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John F. Paolini sold 82,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.14, for a total transaction of $3,065,609.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 61,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,277,573.36. This trade represents a 57.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Michael R. Megna sold 50,490 shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.87, for a total value of $1,962,546.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,046 shares in the company, valued at $1,051,278.02. This trade represents a 65.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 553,057 shares of company stock valued at $21,582,372 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 53.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. US Bancorp DE purchased a new stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,359,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,606,000 after acquiring an additional 151,604 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 164,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,651,000 after purchasing an additional 42,353 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International by 137.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 33,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 19,384 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International in the first quarter valued at approximately $16,992,000. 53.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.