Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:KNSA) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:KNSA) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,260,000 shares, a decrease of 18.9% from the November 30th total of 4,020,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 311,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.5 days.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.9 %

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.78. The stock had a trading volume of 399,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 399,291. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.18. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $16.56 and a 12 month high of $28.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -141.28 and a beta of 0.27.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KNSA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.17). Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 7.31% and a negative net margin of 2.36%. The firm had revenue of $112.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 67.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals

In other Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Mark Ragosa sold 8,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.45, for a total transaction of $192,385.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $492,449.10. This trade represents a 28.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Eben Tessari sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total transaction of $456,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 109,975 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,028.25. This trade represents a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,092 shares of company stock worth $673,039. 54.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $1,192,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals by 31.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 664,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,398,000 after acquiring an additional 157,741 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $675,000. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% during the third quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 755,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,874,000 after purchasing an additional 108,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals by 159.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 621,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,612,000 after purchasing an additional 382,539 shares during the last quarter. 53.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on KNSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.60.

About Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, acquiring, developing, and commercializing therapeutic medicines for patients suffering from debilitating diseases with significant unmet medical needs worldwide. Its product candidates include ARCALYST, an interleukin-1alpha and interleukin-1beta, for the treatment of recurrent pericarditis, which is an inflammatory cardiovascular disease; Mavrilimumab, a monoclonal antibody inhibitor that completed Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of giant cell arteritis; Vixarelimab, a monoclonal antibody, that is in Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of prurigo nodularis, a chronic inflammatory skin condition; and KPL-404, a monoclonal antibody inhibitor of the CD40- CD154 interaction, a T-cell co-stimulatory signal critical for B-cell maturation, immunoglobulin class switching, and type 1 immune response.