Kodiak Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:KOD) Short Interest Up 34.5% in December

Kodiak Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:KOD) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,287,793 shares, an increase of 34.5% from the December 15th total of 4,674,452 shares. Currently, 21.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,390,153 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,390,153 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Currently, 21.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KOD. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Kodiak Sciences from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $15.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Kodiak Sciences in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Kodiak Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.57.

Kodiak Sciences Stock Performance

KOD stock traded up $0.47 on Monday, reaching $27.17. The company had a trading volume of 706,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 991,539. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.59 and a beta of 2.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.65 and its 200 day moving average is $15.82. Kodiak Sciences has a 1 year low of $1.92 and a 1 year high of $31.18.

Kodiak Sciences (NASDAQ:KOD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($1.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.07) by ($0.09). On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kodiak Sciences will post -3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kodiak Sciences

In other news, Director Bros. Advisors Lp Baker bought 2,608,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.00 per share, for a total transaction of $60,000,008.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 18,358,772 shares in the company, valued at $422,251,756. This represents a 16.56% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 45.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kodiak Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kodiak Sciences by 21.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 2,691 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 89.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 3,009 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 79,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 256.4% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 8,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 5,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kodiak Sciences by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 101,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 7,700 shares in the last quarter. 89.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kodiak Sciences

Kodiak Sciences, Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, that focuses on the discovery and development of novel therapies for retinal diseases. The company’s proprietary technology centers on antibody biopolymer conjugates (ABCs), which are designed to extend durability, enhance tissue penetration and improve the safety profile of existing therapeutic modalities. Kodiak’s research and development efforts target conditions such as wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME) and other serious ophthalmic disorders.

The lead product candidate in Kodiak’s pipeline is KSI-301, an anti-VEGF antibody biopolymer conjugate administered via intravitreal injection.