Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:KZR) Short Interest Down 29.7% in December

Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:KZR) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 176,297 shares, a decline of 29.7% from the December 15th total of 250,843 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 29,523 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.0 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 29,523 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kezar Life Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kezar Life Sciences in a report on Monday, December 22nd. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Kezar Life Sciences in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Kezar Life Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $7.00 in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Kezar Life Sciences to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kezar Life Sciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Kezar Life Sciences during the first quarter worth about $125,000. BML Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kezar Life Sciences by 55.6% in the 2nd quarter. BML Capital Management LLC now owns 635,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,909,000 after purchasing an additional 227,045 shares during the last quarter. Stonepine Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kezar Life Sciences by 69.9% in the second quarter. Stonepine Capital Management LLC now owns 169,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 69,859 shares during the period. Peapod Lane Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Kezar Life Sciences by 9.3% during the third quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC now owns 125,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 10,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Kezar Life Sciences during the third quarter worth $51,000. 67.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kezar Life Sciences Price Performance

Shares of Kezar Life Sciences stock remained flat at $6.20 on Monday. The stock had a trading volume of 14,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,524. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 7.06 and a current ratio of 7.07. Kezar Life Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $3.53 and a fifty-two week high of $6.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $6.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.09.

Kezar Life Sciences (NASDAQ:KZR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($1.53) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.81) by $0.28. Equities research analysts expect that Kezar Life Sciences will post -4.39 earnings per share for the current year.

About Kezar Life Sciences

Kezar Life Sciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel small-molecule therapies that modulate the innate immune system. The company’s research centers on selective inhibition of the immunoproteasome, a key protein complex involved in antigen processing and secretion of inflammatory cytokines. By targeting this pathway, Kezar aims to address unmet medical needs in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases with high specificity and a favorable safety profile.

The company’s lead development candidate, KZR-616, is a selective immunoproteasome inhibitor being evaluated in multiple clinical trials for autoimmune conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosus, lupus nephritis, polymyositis and dermatomyositis.