Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $8.64 and last traded at $8.4320, with a volume of 7221 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACHV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Achieve Life Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $15.00.

Achieve Life Sciences Stock Up 2.2%

The stock has a market cap of $873.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.48 and a beta of 2.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.33.

Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.64). As a group, analysts predict that Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. will post -0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard Stewart sold 20,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.49, for a total transaction of $175,114.74. Following the sale, the director directly owned 208,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,768,034.01. This trade represents a 9.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ACHV. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Achieve Life Sciences in the second quarter valued at $49,725,000. venBio Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,623,122. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,426,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Achieve Life Sciences by 18,747.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,369,193 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $21,715,000 after buying an additional 4,346,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Achieve Life Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,964,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.52% of the company’s stock.

Achieve Life Sciences Company Profile

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ: ACHV) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of cytisinicline, a plant-derived alkaloid for smoking cessation. The company’s mission is to offer a novel, evidence-based therapy that addresses the global need for effective and well-tolerated smoking cessation options. Achieve focuses its efforts on advancing the clinical profile of cytisinicline through rigorous development programs and regulatory engagement.

Cytisinicline (formerly marketed as Tabex® in Europe) acts as a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, helping reduce withdrawal symptoms and nicotine cravings.