Kodiak Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:KOD) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Kodiak Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:KOD) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.5714.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Lifesci Capital assumed coverage on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Kodiak Sciences from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock.

Kodiak Sciences Stock Up 4.1%

NASDAQ KOD opened at $27.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of -6.73 and a beta of 2.67. Kodiak Sciences has a 12-month low of $1.92 and a 12-month high of $31.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.89.

Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($1.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.07) by ($0.09). As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kodiak Sciences will post -3.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bros. Advisors Lp Baker bought 2,608,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.00 per share, for a total transaction of $60,000,008.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 18,358,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,251,756. The trade was a 16.56% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 45.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kodiak Sciences

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 27.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,946,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,454,000 after buying an additional 413,821 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Kodiak Sciences by 21.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 2,691 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Kodiak Sciences by 28.5% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 29,113 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 89.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 3,009 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 35,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 15,431 shares during the period. 89.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kodiak Sciences Company Profile

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.