Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) Stock Price Down 6% – Here’s Why

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV)’s share price was down 6% during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $6.62 and last traded at $6.5540. Approximately 192,355 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 1,351,565 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ACHV. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Achieve Life Sciences and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Achieve Life Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Achieve Life Sciences presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

Achieve Life Sciences Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $7.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $644.67 million, a P/E ratio of -4.05 and a beta of 2.30.

Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.64). As a group, equities analysts expect that Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. will post -0.92 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Achieve Life Sciences news, Director Richard Stewart sold 20,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 9.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

About Achieve Life Sciences

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.