Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) Trading 6.5% Higher – What’s Next?

Kodiak Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:KOD)’s stock price shot up 6.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $26.23 and last traded at $26.1210. 431,601 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 743,558 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on KOD shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kodiak Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Kodiak Sciences from $26.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a research note on Monday, November 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Kodiak Sciences from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $15.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Lifesci Capital began coverage on Kodiak Sciences in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kodiak Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.29.

Kodiak Sciences Stock Up 6.3%

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.33 and a beta of 2.67.

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 the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by ($0.09). As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kodiak Sciences Inc. will post -3.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bros. Advisors Lp Baker bought 2,608,696 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.00 per share, with a total value of $60,000,008.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 18,358,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,251,756. This represents a 16.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 45.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kodiak Sciences

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 55.1% in the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 2,055,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,668,000 after acquiring an additional 730,000 shares during the period. Boone Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Kodiak Sciences during the third quarter valued at about $11,719,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Kodiak Sciences by 657.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 309,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,059,000 after purchasing an additional 268,281 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new position in Kodiak Sciences in the third quarter worth about $4,092,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 171.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 266,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 168,192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.06% of the company’s stock.

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.