Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:KZR) Short Interest Update

Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:KZR) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,570,000 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the March 15th total of 3,380,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 717,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Kezar Life Sciences Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KZR opened at $0.82 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $0.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.89. The company has a current ratio of 11.66, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $59.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.58 and a beta of 0.47. Kezar Life Sciences has a 12-month low of $0.67 and a 12-month high of $3.13.

Kezar Life Sciences (NASDAQ:KZR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.04. Sell-side analysts expect that Kezar Life Sciences will post -1.26 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Kezar Life Sciences in a research note on Friday, March 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kezar Life Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KZR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Kezar Life Sciences by 264.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 46,275 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Kezar Life Sciences by 55.7% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 20,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 7,203 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Kezar Life Sciences by 15.0% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 46,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 6,051 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Kezar Life Sciences by 7.8% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,897,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,150,000 after buying an additional 210,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Kezar Life Sciences by 0.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 277,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after buying an additional 2,130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.90% of the company’s stock.

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.