Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) Stock Price Up 6.7% – Here’s Why

Kodiak Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:KOD)’s stock price traded up 6.7% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $40.15 and last traded at $39.7310. Approximately 522,786 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 917,104 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Chardan Capital raised Kodiak Sciences from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Kodiak Sciences from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Kodiak Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.14.

Kodiak Sciences Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.24 and a beta of 2.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.93.

Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.94) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.93) by ($0.01). As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kodiak Sciences Inc. will post -3.89 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kodiak Sciences

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KOD. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kodiak Sciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kodiak Sciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 1,221.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 991 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Kodiak Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 256.4% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 8,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 5,815 shares during the period. 89.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kodiak Sciences

Kodiak Sciences, Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, that focuses on the discovery and development of novel therapies for retinal diseases. The company’s proprietary technology centers on antibody biopolymer conjugates (ABCs), which are designed to extend durability, enhance tissue penetration and improve the safety profile of existing therapeutic modalities. Kodiak’s research and development efforts target conditions such as wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME) and other serious ophthalmic disorders.

The lead product candidate in Kodiak’s pipeline is KSI-301, an anti-VEGF antibody biopolymer conjugate administered via intravitreal injection.