Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:KZR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:KZR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 60,500 shares, an increase of 28.7% from the February 28th total of 47,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 34,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kezar Life Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Kezar Life Sciences by 613.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 10,219 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Kezar Life Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $217,000. BML Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kezar Life Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $327,000. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in shares of Kezar Life Sciences by 256.1% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 52,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 37,504 shares during the period. Finally, Shay Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kezar Life Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $398,000. 67.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kezar Life Sciences Trading Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ:KZR traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,273. Kezar Life Sciences has a twelve month low of $4.36 and a twelve month high of $9.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 7.65 and a quick ratio of 7.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.68. The stock has a market cap of $33.61 million, a P/E ratio of -0.35 and a beta of 0.49.

Kezar Life Sciences (NASDAQ:KZR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported ($2.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.71) by ($0.06). On average, equities analysts predict that Kezar Life Sciences will post -4.39 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KZR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Kezar Life Sciences from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kezar Life Sciences in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

Kezar Life Sciences Company Profile

Kezar Life Sciences, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics to treat unmet needs in immune-mediated diseases and cancer in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is zetomipzomib (KZR-616), a selective immunoproteasome inhibitor that is in Phase 2b clinical trials for various indications, including lupus nephritis, dermatomyositis, and polymyositis; Phase 1b clinical trials in systemic lupus erythematosus; and completed Phase 2a clinical trials in lupus nephritis.