Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:KZR) Short Interest Down 54.6% in December

Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:KZR) was the target of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 47,200 shares, a drop of 54.6% from the November 30th total of 103,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 106,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Kezar Life Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Kezar Life Sciences stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $6.65. 8,589 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 72,003. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 7.65 and a current ratio of 7.65. Kezar Life Sciences has a 12 month low of $5.20 and a 12 month high of $11.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $7.26 and its 200 day moving average is $6.72. The stock has a market cap of $48.55 million, a PE ratio of -0.50 and a beta of 0.25.

Kezar Life Sciences (NASDAQ:KZR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($2.78) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($3.03) by $0.25. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kezar Life Sciences will post -5.17 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acuitas Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Kezar Life Sciences by 42.8% during the second quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 986,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 295,956 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kezar Life Sciences by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,855,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 64,356 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kezar Life Sciences during the second quarter worth $63,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Kezar Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Stonepine Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Kezar Life Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $630,000. Institutional investors own 67.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KZR. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Kezar Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Kezar Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Kezar Life Sciences from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

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.