Short Interest in Zura Bio Limited (NASDAQ:ZURA) Increases By 152.1%

Zura Bio Limited (NASDAQ:ZURA) saw a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,790,000 shares, an increase of 152.1% from the June 30th total of 710,100 shares. Currently, 5.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 266,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Van Amstel Arnout Ploos purchased 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.20 per share, for a total transaction of $496,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $620,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 15.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zura Bio

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Zura Bio by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,824,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,518,000 after acquiring an additional 244,000 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC grew its position in shares of Zura Bio by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC now owns 21,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 6,765 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Zura Bio by 15.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 47,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 6,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zura Bio in the first quarter worth about $1,157,000. 61.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zura Bio Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ZURA opened at $3.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.05 and a 200 day moving average of $3.78. Zura Bio has a 12-month low of $2.00 and a 12-month high of $7.63.

Zura Bio (NASDAQ:ZURA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.21. As a group, research analysts expect that Zura Bio will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Zura Bio in a report on Friday, May 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Zura Bio in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Zura Bio from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $19.75.

About Zura Bio

Zura Bio Limited, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing novel medicines for immune and inflammatory disorders. It develops Tibulizumab, an IgG-scFv bispecific dual-antagonist antibody engineered by the fusion of ixekizumab and tabalumab that neutralizes IL-17A and BAFF, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial development; ZB-168, a monoclonal antibody that binds and neutralizes the IL-7 receptor chain that impact on diseases driven by IL7 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin immune pathways; and Torudokimab, a monoclonal antibody that neutralizes IL33, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial development.