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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kezar Life Sciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KZR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position 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 buying an additional 10,219 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Kezar Life Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in Kezar Life Sciences by 256.1% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 52,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 37,504 shares during the period. BML Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kezar Life Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Finally, Shay Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kezar Life Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $398,000. 67.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kezar Life Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ KZR traded down $0.04 during trading on Monday, hitting $4.88. 33,876 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 62,685. The company has a quick ratio of 7.65, a current ratio of 7.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Kezar Life Sciences has a 12-month low of $4.55 and a 12-month high of $9.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.69. The company has a market capitalization of $35.65 million, a P/E ratio of -0.37 and a beta of 0.49.

Kezar Life Sciences (NASDAQ:KZR) last posted 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). As a group, analysts predict that Kezar Life Sciences will post -4.39 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KZR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Kezar Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kezar Life Sciences in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Kezar Life Sciences from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

About Kezar Life Sciences

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.