Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:KZR) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:KZR) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.00.

KZR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Kezar Life Sciences and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Kezar Life Sciences in a research note on Friday, October 17th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kezar Life Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kezar Life Sciences in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Kezar Life Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd.

Kezar Life Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KZR opened at $6.18 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.24 million, a PE ratio of -0.73 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 7.06, a current ratio of 7.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Kezar Life Sciences has a twelve month low of $3.53 and a twelve month high of $6.65.

Kezar Life Sciences (NASDAQ:KZR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($1.53) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.81) by $0.28. On average, analysts anticipate that Kezar Life Sciences will post -4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peapod Lane Capital LLC raised its holdings in Kezar Life Sciences by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC now owns 125,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 10,650 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Kezar Life Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Kezar Life Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $125,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Kezar Life Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $314,000. Finally, Stonepine Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kezar Life Sciences by 69.9% during the second quarter. Stonepine Capital Management LLC now owns 169,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 69,859 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.90% of the company’s stock.

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.