Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV) Short Interest Up 30.0% in January

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,810,000 shares, a growth of 30.0% from the December 31st total of 2,930,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 153,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 24.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACHV has been the subject of a number of research reports. RODMAN&RENSHAW upgraded Achieve Life Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Rodman & Renshaw began coverage on Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Achieve Life Sciences by 303.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 47,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 35,832 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences by 6.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 749,109 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,552,000 after buying an additional 48,474 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 431,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 27,419 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Achieve Life Sciences by 134.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 25,060 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 14,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Achieve Life Sciences by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 14,993 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 5,939 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.52% of the company’s stock.

Achieve Life Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ:ACHV opened at $3.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.33. Achieve Life Sciences has a 52-week low of $2.84 and a 52-week high of $5.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 6.78 and a current ratio of 6.78. The company has a market cap of $112.46 million, a P/E ratio of -2.89 and a beta of 1.66.

Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by ($0.10). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.34) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Achieve Life Sciences will post -1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Achieve Life Sciences Company Profile

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes cytisinicline for smoking cessation and nicotine addiction. The company offers cytisinicline, a plant-based alkaloid that interacts with nicotine receptors in the brain that reduce the severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms.