Insider Selling: Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) Director Sells $175,114.74 in Stock

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV) Director Richard Alistair Stewart sold 20,626 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director directly owned 208,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,768,034.01. This represents a 9.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Achieve Life Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of ACHV stock opened at $7.99 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2.62 and a 1-year high of $8.61. The firm has a market cap of $822.17 million, a P/E ratio of -5.15 and a beta of 2.24.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Achieve Life Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACHV. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Achieve Life Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences in the second quarter worth about $49,000. Sender Co & Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences in the second quarter worth about $56,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Achieve Life Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Achieve Life Sciences by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 33,731 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 9,617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ACHV shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Wednesday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $13.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $15.00.

About Achieve Life Sciences

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.