venBio Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 5,914,720 Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. $ACHV

venBio Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 5,914,720 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,623,122,000. Achieve Life Sciences accounts for approximately 7.4% of venBio Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. venBio Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Achieve Life Sciences at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,209,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth $99,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $17,964,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Achieve Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $351,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 33.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Achieve Life Sciences in a report on Thursday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $13.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated 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 set a $18.00 price target on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $15.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Achieve Life Sciences news, Director Richard Alistair Stewart sold 20,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 9.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Achieve Life Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ACHV opened at $8.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $841.72 million, a PE ratio of -5.28 and a beta of 2.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.17. Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.62 and a fifty-two week high of $8.61.

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

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.