Zura Bio Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:ZURA)

Zura Bio Limited (NASDAQ:ZURA) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 3,037 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 57% compared to the typical volume of 1,935 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zura Bio

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZURA. Montanova Capital LLC grew its stake in Zura Bio by 4.1% during the second quarter. Montanova Capital LLC now owns 9,443,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,714,000 after purchasing an additional 376,000 shares during the period. Siren L.L.C. grew its holdings in Zura Bio by 187.3% during the first quarter. Siren L.L.C. now owns 3,734,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,222,000 after buying an additional 2,434,866 shares in the last quarter. Commodore Capital LP purchased a new position in Zura Bio during the 1st quarter worth $19,338,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in Zura Bio by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 2,564,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,258,000 after buying an additional 750,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EcoR1 Capital LLC bought a new stake in Zura Bio during the first quarter worth $7,019,000. 61.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Zura Bio News

Here are the key news stories impacting Zura Bio this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Zura Bio said the TibuSHIELD Phase 2 trial of tibulizumab (ZB-106) missed its primary endpoint and discontinued development for hidradenitis suppurativa. The failure removes a clinical program from the company’s pipeline and is the main reason shares have fallen sharply. Zura Bio clinical update
• Negative Sentiment: Investor law firms have announced investigations into whether Zura Bio’s disclosures adequately described the program’s status. One notice points to the company’s October 27 filing, which described tibulizumab as advancing in Phase 2, followed less than two weeks later by the trial failure. These are investigations, not findings of wrongdoing. Levi & Korsinsky investigation notice SBS Law investigation notice
• Negative Sentiment: The October 27 SEC filing also included a shelf registration covering up to $700 million in securities. The registration does not mean the company will issue that amount, but potential future fundraising and dilution may add to investor concerns following the trial setback. Investigation notice discussing the filing

Zura Bio Stock Performance

NASDAQ ZURA traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $1.51. 6,738,212 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,735,277. The company has a market capitalization of $145.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.36 and a beta of 0.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $4.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.18. Zura Bio has a one year low of $0.93 and a one year high of $7.44.

Zura Bio (NASDAQ:ZURA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.20). Research analysts predict that Zura Bio will post -0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Zura Bio from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Zura Bio in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zura Bio from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on Zura Bio from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zura Bio currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Zura Bio Company Profile

Zura Bio, Ltd. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing medicines for immune-mediated diseases. The company’s research and development programs are designed to address conditions in which abnormal immune-system activity contributes to inflammation and tissue damage.

Zura Bio’s lead investigational product, ZT-101, formerly known as ZB-106 or tibulizumab, is a dual-antagonist antibody designed to inhibit signaling associated with interleukin-17A and B-cell activating factor.