Kezar Life Sciences (NASDAQ:KZR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.20 EPS

Kezar Life Sciences (NASDAQ:KZR) released its earnings results on Monday. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by $0.20, Zacks reports.

Kezar Life Sciences Stock Up 1.7%

KZR traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $7.42. The company had a trading volume of 616,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,532. Kezar Life Sciences has a 52 week low of $3.53 and a 52 week high of $7.55. The company has a market capitalization of $54.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.97 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kezar Life Sciences in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kezar Life Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kezar Life Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Kezar Life Sciences in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Torno Capital LLC bought a new stake in Kezar Life Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $126,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Kezar Life Sciences in the first quarter valued at $125,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Kezar Life Sciences by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 26,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 3,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Kezar Life Sciences by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. 67.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kezar Life Sciences Company Profile

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.