Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV) Stock Rated “Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

Several brokerages have commented on ACHV. Stifel Nicolaus set a $18.00 price objective on Achieve Life Sciences and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Achieve Life Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard Stewart sold 20,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.49, for a total value of $175,114.74. Following the transaction, the director owned 208,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,768,034.01. This trade represents a 9.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Achieve Life Sciences

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Achieve Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,725,000. venBio Partners LLC bought a new position in Achieve Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,623,122. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth approximately $34,426,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth approximately $17,964,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth approximately $12,575,000. 33.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Achieve Life Sciences Trading Down 0.4%

ACHV opened at $6.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.03. Achieve Life Sciences has a one year low of $2.62 and a one year high of $8.64. The stock has a market cap of $717.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.50 and a beta of 2.30.

Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.64). On average, equities analysts forecast that Achieve Life Sciences will post -0.92 EPS for the current year.

Achieve Life Sciences Company Profile

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing cytisinicline, a plant-based investigational therapy intended to help adults quit smoking and address nicotine addiction. Cytisinicline is designed to act on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the brain, potentially reducing nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms while helping limit the satisfaction associated with smoking.

The company’s primary development program is aimed at securing regulatory approval for cytisinicline in the United States.