Short Interest in Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:KZR) Increases By 5.6%

Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:KZR) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of 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 daily volume of 717,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Kezar Life Sciences Stock Down 3.3 %

KZR stock opened at $0.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 11.66 and a current ratio of 11.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $0.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $0.89. Kezar Life Sciences has a 52-week low of $0.67 and a 52-week 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Kezar Life Sciences will post -1.26 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Kezar Life Sciences by 381.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,537,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,460,000 after acquiring an additional 2,802,611 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kezar Life Sciences by 14.2% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,089,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,468,000 after acquiring an additional 631,157 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Kezar Life Sciences by 737.2% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 695,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,177,000 after acquiring an additional 612,584 shares during the last quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. raised its stake in shares of Kezar Life Sciences by 44.7% in the first quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. now owns 1,888,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,910,000 after acquiring an additional 583,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kezar Life Sciences by 22.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,993,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,771,000 after acquiring an additional 556,020 shares during the last quarter. 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.