Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) was upgraded by UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Kodiak Sciences from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Kodiak Sciences in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Lifesci Capital began coverage on Kodiak Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upgraded Kodiak Sciences from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $7.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kodiak Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.57.

Kodiak Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of KOD opened at $26.62 on Wednesday. Kodiak Sciences has a 1 year low of $1.92 and a 1 year high of $31.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of -6.46 and a beta of 2.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.65.

Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($1.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 news, Director Bros. Advisors Lp Baker acquired 2,608,696 shares of Kodiak Sciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.00 per share, for a total transaction of $60,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 18,358,772 shares in the company, valued at $422,251,756. This represents a 16.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 45.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kodiak Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KOD. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new stake in Kodiak Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,092,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Kodiak Sciences by 210.5% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 155,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 105,255 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in Kodiak Sciences in the third quarter valued at $2,264,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 657.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 309,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,059,000 after buying an additional 268,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boone Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kodiak Sciences during the third quarter worth about $11,719,000. 89.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.