Zura Bio Limited (NASDAQ:ZURA) Short Interest Up 152.1% in July

Zura Bio Limited (NASDAQ:ZURA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,790,000 shares, an increase of 152.1% from the June 30th total of 710,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 266,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.7 days. Currently, 5.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ZURA shares. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Zura Bio in a report on Friday, May 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Zura Bio in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Zura Bio from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.75.

Zura Bio Stock Performance

ZURA opened at $3.89 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $4.05 and its 200 day moving average is $3.78. Zura Bio has a fifty-two week low of $2.00 and a fifty-two week high of $7.63.

Zura Bio (NASDAQ:ZURA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.21. Equities analysts forecast that Zura Bio will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Van Amstel Arnout Ploos purchased 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.20 per share, with a total value of $496,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $620,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 15.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zura Bio

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Zura Bio by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 47,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 6,412 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zura Bio by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC now owns 21,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 6,765 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC increased its position in Zura Bio by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,824,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,518,000 after purchasing an additional 244,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Zura Bio during the first quarter valued at $1,157,000. 61.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.