Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:KNSA) Short Interest Up 53.4% in February

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,960,000 shares, an increase of 53.4% from the January 31st total of 1,930,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 463,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.4 days.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of KNSA traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $21.27. The stock had a trading volume of 733,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 625,494. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -151.92 and a beta of 0.48. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $16.56 and a 52 week high of $28.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.40.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KNSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.06). Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 2.36% and a negative return on equity of 7.31%. The firm had revenue of $122.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 46.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.60.

Insider Activity at Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals

In other news, COO Eben Tessari sold 14,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.57, for a total transaction of $273,980.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 81,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,604,250.75. This trade represents a 14.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 54.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $61,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $158,000. Bellevue Group AG bought a new position in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $160,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals by 117.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 4,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.95% of the company's stock.

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.