Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHV) by 36.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,871,349 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,181,025 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.11% of Achieve Life Sciences worth $19,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $482,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 48,474 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences during the second quarter worth about $197,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Achieve Life Sciences by 303.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 47,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 35,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Achieve Life Sciences by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 431,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 27,419 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.52% of the company’s stock.

Achieve Life Sciences Trading Down 4.5 %

NASDAQ ACHV opened at $3.82 on Friday. Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.20 and a 52-week high of $5.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.37 million, a P/E ratio of -3.38 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 6.78, a current ratio of 6.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ACHV. Raymond James began coverage on 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 shares of Achieve Life Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Rodman & Renshaw assumed coverage on shares of Achieve Life Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $14.80.

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.