Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KNSA) Trading Down 5.4% After Insider Selling

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:KNSA)’s share price traded down 5.4% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $28.44 and last traded at $28.60. 434,756 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 508,421 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.22.

Specifically, COO Eben Tessari sold 45,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.51, for a total transaction of $1,374,231.42. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 72,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,207,795.13. This represents a 38.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Eben Tessari sold 10,319 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.38, for a total transaction of $313,491.22. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 72,363 shares in the company, valued at $2,198,387.94. The trade was a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals news, COO Eben Tessari sold 15,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.46, for a total value of $472,312.76. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 72,363 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,176.98. This represents a 17.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $24.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of -198.06 and a beta of 0.06.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KNSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.09. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 2.36% and a negative return on equity of 7.31%. The company had revenue of $137.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.35 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.25) EPS. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 72.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KNSA. Peregrine Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 244,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,827,000 after purchasing an additional 4,361 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 15,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $258,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 122,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,414,000 after acquiring an additional 30,382 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 122,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,414,000 after buying an additional 32,393 shares during the period. 53.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.