Oruka Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORKA) Short Interest Up 22.4% in April

Key Points

• Short interest rose 22.4% to 5,537,531 shares as of April 15, representing 14.6% of the stock shorted and a days-to-cover ratio of about 4.0.
• Analysts are broadly bullish (10 Buys, 1 Sell) with a consensus target of $117.40 and several raised targets—Guggenheim $200, Wedbush $165, BTIG $151—boosting sentiment.
• Insiders sold about 23,765 shares ($1.09M) in the last quarter—though they still own 24.69%—while the stock trades near $68.10 (market cap $3.42B) and the company reported a quarterly EPS of -$0.45, beating estimates of -$0.61.

Oruka Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORKA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,537,531 shares, a growth of 22.4% from the March 31st total of 4,522,980 shares. Currently, 14.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,369,348 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Insider Transactions at Oruka Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Lawrence Otto Klein sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.30, for a total value of $71,407.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 927,309 shares in the company, valued at $38,297,861.70. This trade represents a 0.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joana Goncalves sold 7,641 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.91, for a total transaction of $312,593.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 33,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,365,453.07. This represents a 18.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,765 shares of company stock valued at $1,089,745 in the last quarter. Insiders own 24.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Oruka Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Oruka Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $1,811,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oruka Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Oruka Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $159,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Oruka Therapeutics by 777.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 143,121 shares of the company's stock worth $4,338,000 after purchasing an additional 126,803 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oruka Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $267,000. 56.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Oruka Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Oruka Therapeutics from $78.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Wedbush set a $165.00 price target on shares of Oruka Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Guggenheim set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oruka Therapeutics and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Oruka Therapeutics from $47.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oruka Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.40.

Oruka Therapeutics Stock Down 8.0%

Shares of ORKA stock opened at $68.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.61 and a beta of -0.54. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $48.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.65. Oruka Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $8.91 and a fifty-two week high of $91.00.

Oruka Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ORKA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.61) by $0.16. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oruka Therapeutics will post -2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oruka Therapeutics Company Profile

Oruka Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel peptide‐based therapies for oncology. The company's proprietary stapled peptide platform is designed to selectively disrupt intracellular protein–protein interactions that drive tumor growth and immune evasion. By combining the specificity of biologics with the cell‐permeability of small molecules, Oruka aims to target cancer pathways that have been historically considered “undruggable.”

The company's lead candidate, ONCT-01, is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials for patients with advanced solid tumors, assessing safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy.

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