ACHIEVE LIFE SCIENCES INC (ACHV)
Health Care · Clinical-stage biopharmaceuticals / smoking cessation therapeutics · NASDAQ
A clinical-stage biotech developing cytisinicline for smoking cessation and nicotine dependence, preparing for commercialization after completing key clinical trials.
What ACHIEVE LIFE SCIENCES INC does
Achieve Life Sciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of cytisinicline, a novel drug candidate for treating nicotine dependence and smoking cessation. The company is advancing cytisinicline through clinical trials, including the completed ORCA-OL trial, and is preparing for commercial launch while exploring additional indications beyond smoking cessation. The company is unprofitable and relies on capital raises and strategic partnerships to fund its development and commercialization efforts.
Themes: smoking cessation / nicotine dependence treatment, clinical-stage drug development, regulatory approval pathway (FDA)
Fundamentals
- Price$7.99 as of 2026-08-21 close
- Market cap$822M as of 2026-08-21
- 1-year return+176.5% 2025-08-21 close $2.89 → 2026-08-21 close $7.99
- P/En/a negative earnings
- Net margin-94.7% as of 2026-08-24
- Gross margin-98.8% as of 2026-08-24
- ROE-193.5% as of 2026-08-24
- Debt / equity1.40 as of 2026-08-24
- Revenue growth (YoY)-89.3% as of 2026-08-24
- Beta2.37 as of 2026-08-24
- Last reported earnings2026-08-11 SEC EDGAR Form 8-K (Item 2.02)
How ACHV compares in its sector
- net profit marginmiddle range 504 covered Health Care peers, as of 2026-08-24
- operating marginmiddle range 504 covered Health Care peers, as of 2026-08-24
- gross marginbottom 10% 384 covered Health Care peers, as of 2026-08-24
- return on equitybottom 10% 576 covered Health Care peers, as of 2026-08-24
- free cash flow (absolute dollars, latest fiscal year)middle range 493 covered Health Care peers, as of FY2025
Position among covered Health Care companies that report each metric (minimum 5 peers). A relative position within our covered catalog — not a valuation, quality, or investment judgment. A higher percentile is simply a higher value (for P/E, more expensive on earnings — never "better"). Informational only.
How ACHIEVE LIFE SCIENCES INC looks technically
ACHIEVE LIFE SCIENCES INC (ACHV) is trading 61.0% above its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a longer-term uptrend. Its 50-day average crossed above its 200-day average about 71 trading days ago — a "golden cross", a bullish long-term signal. A strong uptrend is in place — ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 38, with buyers in control. Momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 68, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30). It made a new 20-day high about 3 trading days ago.
Trend
8
| Distance from the 200-day | it is trading 61.0% above its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a longer-term uptrend | +61.0% |
|---|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | its average price over the last 50 trading days — a short-term trend line — is $6.34 | $6.34 |
| 200-day moving average | its average price over the last 200 trading days — the long-term trend line — is $4.96 | $4.96 |
| Swing structure | its recent peaks and dips disagree — one of them is rising while the other is not, so there is no clean up or down pattern in the swings | mixed — one of the two is not confirming |
| Last swing turn | its last significant turn was a swing low 24 calendar days ago — the swings before that are what the structure reading is measured on | 24 sessions |
| Wave structure | its recent swings can be read as a completed three-part downward correction — a pullback in the A-B-C shape Elliott-wave chartists use; the labelling fails if price closes below 5.91. It is the only labelling that fits, though not with textbook proportions, and it describes the swings already printed, not what comes next. | possible three-wave downward correction, complete (atypical proportions) |
| Since the 50/200 cross | its 50-day average crossed above its 200-day average about 71 trading days ago — a "golden cross", a bullish long-term signal | 71 sessions |
| Trend strength (14-day ADX) | a strong uptrend is in place — ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 38, with buyers in control | 37.8 |
Momentum
3
| 14-day RSI | momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 68, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30) | 68.4 |
|---|---|---|
| Position in its 14-day range | it is trading in the upper half of its 14-day range ($6.29 to $8.61) — its "stochastic" reading is 73 out of 100, where 0 would mean closing exactly at the 14-session low and 100 exactly at the high. This measures WHERE the price sits inside its recent range, which is a different question from the RSI beside it: RSI is a momentum gauge, measuring how FAST the price has been moving, so a stock can drift quietly to the bottom of its range with an ordinary RSI, or fall sharply and still sit in the middle. It has been slipping within that range over the last few sessions. | 73.3 |
| Since the MACD crossed zero | MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, is in positive territory (momentum leaning bullish) | 12 sessions |
Range
12
| 52-week high | its highest closing price over the past year (about 252 trading days) was $8.61 | $8.61 |
|---|---|---|
| From the 52-week high | it is 7.2% below its 52-week high (its highest price of the past year) | -7.2% |
| Above the 52-week low | it is 213.3% above its 52-week low (its lowest price of the past year) | +213.3% |
| Below the 52-week high | it is 7.2% below its highest point of the past year | 7.2% |
| Since a 20-day breakout | it made a new 20-day high about 3 trading days ago | 3 sessions |
| Since a 55-day breakout | it made a new 55-day high about 3 trading days ago | 3 sessions |
| All-time high | its highest closing price on record is $1856250.00 (set on 1997-10-08) | $1856250.00 |
| Given back of the 52-week move | over the past year its closes ranged ($2.58 to $8.53), and it has given back only a small part of its rise from last year’s low — 9% of it. Chart-watchers call 61.8%-65% given back the "golden pocket" — for this company that is $4.66 to $4.85. It is watched widely enough that orders cluster there, which is the honest reason it matters; it is not a forecast. | 9.1% |
| From the all-time high | it is 100.0% below its all-time high | -100.0% |
| Nearest price level | it is trading 23.0% above a support level at $6.16 — a price it turned at twice since 2026-05-12, most recently on 2026-06-11. Since 2024-08-21 it has 15 such levels below the current price and 0 above. Levels like these describe where the price has reversed or paused before; they are not a forecast of where it will go. | -23.0% |
| All-time low | its lowest closing price on record is $1.84 (set on 2025-04-09) | $1.84 |
| Above the all-time low | it is 334.2% above its all-time low | +334.2% |
Volatility
5
| Band width vs its own 6 months | day-to-day price swings are about average versus its own recent 6-month history | 63rd percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Typical daily range | in a typical session it travels about $0.4204 between its high and its low — about 5.3% of its price. That is its "average true range" over the last 14 sessions, which also counts the distance from the previous close, so a day that opens well away from yesterday counts as the large move it was | $0.4204 |
| Bollinger bands (20-day, ±2σ) | most of its recent trading has stayed between about $5.55 and $8.30 — the "Bollinger bands", a range drawn two standard deviations either side of its 20-day average price, which widens when the stock gets more volatile and narrows when it settles | $5.55 – $6.92 – $8.30 |
| Typical daily range (% of price) | its price moves about 5.3% in a typical session — about typical for the companies we cover. This is the average gap between a session's high and low over the last 14 sessions, counting overnight moves, expressed against the current price so it can be compared with companies trading at any price | 5.3% |
| Stretch from the 200-day average | it is trading 7.2 daily ranges above its 200-day average price (61.1% above it in plain percentage terms) — a way of asking how far it has stretched from its own average in units of how far it normally moves in a day, so a calm company and a jumpy one can be compared on the same scale | 7.2 daily ranges above its 200-day average |
Volume
1
| Volume vs its 30-day average | trading volume is about normal versus its 30-day average | 0.78× |
|---|
Analyst
2
| Change in the average price target | analysts have cut their average price target by 1.8% since the prior reading | -1.8% |
|---|---|---|
| Change in the consensus rating | the analyst consensus rating has softened toward "sell" since the prior reading | 0.07 toward sell |
Candlestick patterns
1
| Since a bullish engulfing | 9 sessions ago it opened below the previous session's close and finished above that session's open — a "bullish engulfing" pair, where one up day more than undid the down day before it | 9 sessions ago |
|---|
Price gaps
3
| Gap at the open | it opened on 2026-08-21 1.1% above the previous session's close — an overnight gap, the part of the move that happened while the market was shut, and traded back through that level before the close | +1.1% |
|---|---|---|
| Open gap | it gapped 3.4% above the previous close 6 sessions ago and has not traded back through the level it left behind at 6.69 — an "unfilled gap", which describes a price range no trade has since crossed and is not a forecast that it will be crossed | +3.4% |
| Gap filled | a 2.5% gap down opened on 2026-08-17 has been "filled" 3 sessions ago — price traded back through the level the gap left behind, and it took 1 session to close | 3 sessions ago |
Price streaks
1
| Closing streak | it has closed lower 2 sessions in a row, a -6.33% move over the run — an unbroken run of down days, which describes what has already happened and says nothing about the next session | 2 sessions down |
|---|
Relative strength
4
| vs market, 1 month | over the past 1 month this stock beat the market by 20.6 percentage points (the stock gained 22.9% while the market gained 2.3%) | +20.6% |
|---|---|---|
| vs market, 3 months | over the past 3 months this stock beat the market by 70.6 percentage points (the stock gained 73.7% while the market gained 3.1%) | +70.6% |
| vs market, 6 months | over the past 6 months this stock beat the market by 76.1 percentage points (the stock gained 87.1% while the market gained 11.1%) | +76.0% |
| vs market, 12 months | over the past 12 months this stock beat the market by 156.0 percentage points (the stock gained 176.5% while the market gained 20.5%) | +156.0% |
Signal agreement
2
| Bullish technical signals | 7 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bullish state: a strong uptrend, with buyers in control, a "golden cross" — its 50-day average is above its 200-day, trading above its 200-day average, a fresh 20-day high, MACD momentum is positive, outperforming the market over 6 months, trading above the Ichimoku cloud — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 7 of 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Bearish technical signals | 0 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bearish state — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 0 of 9 |
Trend (Ichimoku cloud)
1
| Vs the Ichimoku cloud | trading 31% above the Ichimoku cloud — a band drawn from where its own highs and lows sat up to 2026-07-15 and projected forward over today's price, the side traders read as an established uptrend, with the band below acting as the level that would have to give way. The band itself is moderate, spanning 5.7% of the share price. | +31.0% |
|---|
Volume-weighted price
1
| Vs this year’s average price paid | the price is 50% above the average price paid so far this year, so the typical buyer over that stretch is showing a gain. That average is $5.34 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 159 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | +49.6% |
|---|
Price levels it has turned at before
ACHV last closed at $7.99 on 2026-08-21. Since 2024-08-21 it has turned at 15 prices below its last close and 0 above; the 3 nearest below are listed, nearest first.
| Level | Side | Distance | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| $6.16 | Support | 23.0% below the last close | turned there twice · 2026-05-12 to 2026-06-11 |
| $5.77 | Support | 27.8% below the last close | turned there twice · 2025-10-21 to 2026-07-17 |
| $5.29 | Support | 33.7% below the last close | turned there twice · 2024-10-08 to 2024-11-06 |
A level is a price this company reversed or paused at more than once — they describe past behaviour, not a forecast of where the price will go.
Wave structure
Its recent swings can be read as a three-part downward correction — the A-B-C shape chartists use for a pullback — now complete.
This labelling fails — stops being a possible reading at all — if it closes below $5.91.
It is the only labelling that fits these swings, though its proportions are not the textbook ones. It was chosen from 3 labellings that survived the rules, counting shorter readings of the same bars.
This labelling was already in place when we began recording count changes on 2026-08-13, so how long it has stood is not something we can say yet.
Read from daily closes as of 2026-08-21.
An Elliott-wave count describes the swings already printed and the level that would disprove it. It is not a forecast, a target, or advice.
Screens: Trading above the 200-day moving average · Broke out to a new 20-day high · in a strong, established uptrend (ADX) · Analyst price target recently CUT · beating the market · Stretched far above its 200-day average (6+ daily ranges) | Learn: moving average · golden cross · adx · rsi · breakout
Based on daily closing prices as of 2026-08-21. Describes past price behavior only — informational, not financial advice.
Analyst consensus
- Consensus ratingStrong Buy (1.27 mean, 1=Strong Buy…5=Strong Sell) — 12 analysts
- Mean price target$13.83 range $9.00 – $21.00; median $12.50
Analyst estimates, as of 2026-08-24. These are third-party analyst opinions and price targets, aggregated — not a recommendation, prediction, or advice from stocks-llm. Informational only.
Analyst EPS estimate for ACHV
- Consensus EPS estimate-$0.16 next reporting period, as of 2026-08-24
Change over time is not available yet: it needs two readings of the same reporting period at least 30 days apart, and we have been recording these estimates since 2026-08-04. An estimate for a DIFFERENT quarter is not a revision, so a reading from before the last report is never compared with one after it.
The consensus estimate for the next reporting period, and how it has moved between readings of that SAME period. A change is measured only between readings estimating one period — when a company reports, the consensus moves to the next quarter and the two numbers are not comparable. Informational only, not a forecast and not advice.
Key risks (from latest filing)
["Successful development of cytisinicline is highly uncertain and regulatory approval is not guaranteed; clinical trial outcomes and timelines are unpredictable.","The company requires additional capital raises to advance development and commercialization programs, creating substantial funding and dilution risk.","Dependence on third-party manufacturers to receive and maintain FDA approval and provide timely, sufficient supply of cytisinicline could disrupt commercialization."]
Insider activity (SEC Form 4)
0 open-market purchases and 1 open-market sale by insiders in the last 90 days.
- Last 30 days0 buys · 1 sell ($175177) — 1 selling insider
- Last 90 days0 buys · 1 sell ($175177) — 1 selling insider
- Last 180 days0 buys · 1 sell ($175177) — 1 selling insider
Activity heuristic: net selling (a transparent product heuristic from the counts above, not a prediction or advice)
Most recent open-market transaction: 2026-08-19. As of 2026-08-24.
View full insider trading history → View SEC Form 3/4/5 filingsAsk about ACHV's insider activity →
Only open-market purchases (SEC code P) and sales (code S) are counted here. Option exercises, vesting/awards, gifts, and shares withheld for taxes are excluded — they are compensation or mechanical, not open-market conviction. Sales may be planned and non-discretionary (e.g. a Rule 10b5-1 plan) and are not necessarily bearish; open-market buying is not a recommendation to buy. Informational only — not financial advice.
Institutional ownership (13F)
5 institutional 13F filers reported holding ACHV as of 2026-03-31 (quarter-end position, filed within 45 days).
- Distinct 13F filers 5
- Reported shares held 930,464
- Reported value $2,735,564
reported quarterly holdings change (2025-12-31 → 2026-03-31): 0 new, 3 increased, 2 decreased, 0 exited. Change counts cover only managers that filed 13F reports in BOTH quarters, derived between two quarter-end snapshots — not same-day trades; a single manager is never said to have "bought" or "sold".
Institutional holdings are quarter-end long positions reported on SEC Form 13F-HR, filed up to 45 days after the quarter ends — they are delayed, are not real-time trades, exclude short positions and most non-US securities, and are not investment advice. Any increase/decrease is a reported change between two quarterly snapshots, not a same-day purchase or sale. These are quarter-end snapshots from the 13F filings on SEC EDGAR, filed within 45 days — not real-time, and any change is a difference between two quarterly reports, not a same-day trade. Informational only — not financial advice.
Short interest (FINRA)
ACHV had 16,273,408 shares of reported short interest as of the 2026-07-31 FINRA settlement date (delayed, bi-monthly; not real-time).
ACHV had 15.8% of its shares outstanding sold short as of the 2026-07-31 FINRA settlement date (percent of FLOAT would be higher — float is not disclosed in the source). FINRA reported 15.04 days to cover at the same settlement.
- Reported short interest (shares) 16,273,408
- Short interest (% of shares outstanding) 15.8%
- Prior settlement (shares) 14,730,069
- Reported change 10.48%
- Days to cover (reported) 15.04
Reported to FINRA as of the 2026-07-31 settlement date. Short interest is reported to FINRA and published on a delayed, bi-monthly schedule (as of a settlement date, disseminated roughly eight business days later) — it is NOT real-time, does not cover every venue or all US trading, and is not a short-squeeze prediction or investment advice. Days-to-cover is the value FINRA reports; percent of float is not shown because the source file carries no share-count denominator — where a percent appears it is of shares OUTSTANDING, the larger base, and is therefore a floor on percent of float. Informational only — not financial advice.
Competitors & peers
- Pfizer (PFE) - Chantix/Champix (varenicline for smoking cessation)
- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) - Nicoderm and NicoDerm CQ (nicotine replacement therapy)
- Novartis (NVS) - various smoking cessation products
- Phonex Pharmaceuticals - competing smoking cessation/nicotine dependence programs
AI-enriched competitor set. Linked names are companies covered by stocks-llm; other named peers are shown for reference only.
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Frequently asked questions
What does ACHIEVE LIFE SCIENCES INC (ACHV) do?
Achieve Life Sciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of cytisinicline, a novel drug candidate for treating nicotine dependence and smoking cessation. The company is advancing cytisinicline through clinical trials, including the completed ORCA-OL trial, and is preparing for commercial launch while exploring additional indications beyond smoking cessation.
What sector is ACHIEVE LIFE SCIENCES INC (ACHV) in?
ACHIEVE LIFE SCIENCES INC (ACHV) is classified in the Health Care sector. Its industry is Clinical-stage biopharmaceuticals / smoking cessation therapeutics. It trades on NASDAQ.
Who are ACHIEVE LIFE SCIENCES INC's (ACHV) competitors?
Notable peers of ACHIEVE LIFE SCIENCES INC (ACHV) include Pfizer (PFE) - Chantix/Champix (varenicline for smoking cessation), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) - Nicoderm and NicoDerm CQ (nicotine replacement therapy), Novartis (NVS) - various smoking cessation products and Phonex Pharmaceuticals - competing smoking cessation/nicotine dependence programs. This peer set is informational only — not financial advice.
Is ACHIEVE LIFE SCIENCES INC (ACHV) overbought or oversold right now?
ACHIEVE LIFE SCIENCES INC (ACHV) is currently neither overbought nor oversold — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 68, in the neutral middle (as of 2026-08-21). RSI describes recent price momentum, not a forecast — informational only, not financial advice.
Where does stocks-llm's data on ACHV come from?
Fundamentals and prices come from market data, as of 2026-08-24; company filings and profile facts come from SEC EDGAR. All figures are delayed daily-close data shown with their as-of date — informational only, not financial advice.
Fundamentals: market data, as of 2026-08-24. Filings: SEC EDGAR. Prices are delayed daily-close data.
Last updated 2026-08-21.
Informational only — NOT financial advice. All figures are delayed daily-close data from SEC EDGAR & market data, shown with their as-of date.