Kailera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLRA) Short Interest Up 96.0% in June

Key Points

• Short interest in Kailera Therapeutics surged 96% in June, reaching 5,097,048 shares as of June 30. That equals about 3.9% of the float and a short-interest ratio of 3.1 days.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on KLRA, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $42.75. Several firms initiated coverage, including JPMorgan, Jefferies, William Blair, and TD Cowen.
• Insiders have been buying heavily, with directors Andrew T. Kaplan and Adam Koppel purchasing more than 9.9 million shares combined in April. The company also reported a very large quarterly EPS loss of ($3,650.00).

Kailera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLRA - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 5,097,048 shares, a growth of 96.0% from the June 15th total of 2,599,881 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,667,724 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on KLRA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Kailera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Kailera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kailera Therapeutics to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Kailera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Kailera Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $42.75.

Kailera Therapeutics Price Performance

KLRA traded down $0.98 on Thursday, reaching $18.32. The stock had a trading volume of 378,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,381. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $21.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion and a P/E ratio of -0.01. Kailera Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $17.98 and a fifty-two week high of $28.23.

Kailera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:KLRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported ($3,650.00) EPS for the quarter.

Insider Activity at Kailera Therapeutics

In related news, Director Andrew T. Kaplan bought 8,398,438 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.00 per share, with a total value of $134,375,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,255,581 shares in the company, valued at $420,089,296. The trade was a 47.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Adam Koppel bought 1,562,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.00 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 22,583,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at $361,332,288. This represents a 7.43% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 10,460,938 shares of company stock valued at $167,375,008.

Kailera Therapeutics Company Profile

We are an advanced clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on elevating the next era of obesity care by advancing a diversified pipeline to provide options for people living with obesity no matter where they are in their treatment journey. Obesity is a chronic, progressive and debilitating disease that impacts over 1 billion people globally and requires long-term comprehensive treatment. Since obesity is the driving factor for more than 200 comorbidities and represents a significant contributor to increased morbidity and mortality, our vision is to deliver category-leading obesity management medications that give people the power to restore their health and transform their lives.

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