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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ACHV. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Friday, September 27th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. RODMAN&RENSHAW upgraded Achieve Life Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Rodman & Renshaw began coverage on Achieve Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $14.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Achieve Life Sciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Achieve Life Sciences in the second quarter worth $482,000. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter valued at $197,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Achieve Life Sciences by 134.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 25,060 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,360 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Achieve Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Achieve Life Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. 33.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Achieve Life Sciences Price Performance

Achieve Life Sciences stock opened at $3.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.80 million, a PE ratio of -2.90 and a beta of 1.66. Achieve Life Sciences has a 12-month low of $3.12 and a 12-month high of $5.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.47. The company has a current ratio of 6.78, a quick ratio of 6.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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