Kiora Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KPRX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyKiora Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KPRX – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 15,786 shares, an increase of 94.1% from the February 26th total of 8,131 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 26,663 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kiora Pharmaceuticals
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Kiora Pharmaceuticals by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 21,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in Kiora Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kiora Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $125,000. DRW Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Kiora Pharmaceuticals by 199.2% in the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 110,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 73,417 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Kiora Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $152,000. 76.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Kiora Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance
NASDAQ:KPRX traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $1.97. The stock had a trading volume of 30,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,418. The stock has a market cap of $7.25 million, a P/E ratio of -0.94 and a beta of -0.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.25. Kiora Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $1.76 and a 12-month high of $4.18.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Kiora Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kiora Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Kiora Pharmaceuticals
About Kiora Pharmaceuticals
Kiora Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: KPRX) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing innovative therapies for serious eye diseases. The company’s research efforts focus on modulating immune and neurological pathways in the eye to address conditions that currently have limited treatment options. Kiora’s approach combines small-molecule immunomodulators with advanced gene-based and optogenetic technologies to preserve and restore vision.
The company’s lead product candidate, KIO-100 (PP-001), is an intravitreal formulation designed to inhibit key inflammatory pathways implicated in non-infectious uveitis and other autoimmune ocular disorders.