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

Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of 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 daily volume of 153,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 24.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Achieve Life Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Achieve Life Sciences by 6.9% in the 3rd 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 period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Achieve Life Sciences by 303.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 47,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 35,832 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 valued at $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 27,419 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences in the third quarter worth $113,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth $69,000. 33.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ACHV. RODMAN&RENSHAW raised Achieve Life Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Rodman & Renshaw assumed coverage on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.80.

Achieve Life Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ACHV opened at $3.22 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.35.

Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.10). During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.34) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Achieve Life Sciences will post -1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Achieve Life Sciences

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.