Zura Bio Limited (NASDAQ:ZURA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Zura Bio Limited (NASDAQ:ZURA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,960,000 shares, an increase of 183.4% from the October 31st total of 1,750,000 shares. Approximately 10.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 444,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 11.2 days.

Insider Activity at Zura Bio

In related news, Director Someit Sidhu sold 51,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.87, for a total value of $200,187.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,085,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,070,567.66. This trade represents a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Parvinder Thiara sold 1,001,633 shares of Zura Bio stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.73, for a total value of $2,734,458.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 22.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zura Bio

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Zura Bio by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 47,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 6,412 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Zura Bio by 51.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 17,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. Great Point Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Zura Bio by 68.3% in the second quarter. Great Point Partners LLC now owns 4,642,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,248,000 after buying an additional 1,884,501 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its position in Zura Bio by 53.2% during the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 2,524,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,834,000 after acquiring an additional 876,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Zura Bio during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.14% of the company’s stock.

Zura Bio Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZURA opened at $3.00 on Friday. Zura Bio has a 52-week low of $2.00 and a 52-week high of $6.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.02.

Zura Bio (NASDAQ:ZURA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by ($0.12). On average, equities analysts forecast that Zura Bio will post -0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Chardan Capital decreased their target price on Zura Bio from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zura Bio in a report on Monday, November 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised Zura Bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Zura Bio in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.00 target price on shares of Zura Bio in a report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zura Bio has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.80.

About Zura Bio

Zura Bio Limited, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing novel medicines for immune and inflammatory disorders. It develops Tibulizumab, an IgG-scFv bispecific dual-antagonist antibody engineered by the fusion of ixekizumab and tabalumab that neutralizes IL-17A and BAFF, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial development; ZB-168, a monoclonal antibody that binds and neutralizes the IL-7 receptor chain that impact on diseases driven by IL7 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin immune pathways; and Torudokimab, a monoclonal antibody that neutralizes IL33, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial development.