Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZVRA) Short Interest Up 166.3% in July

Key Points

• Short interest in Zevra Therapeutics surged by 166.3% in July, reaching 4.9 million shares, indicating strong bearish sentiment towards the stock.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Strs Ohio, significantly increased their stakes, resulting in institutional ownership of 35.03% in the company.
• Analysts have varied ratings on ZVRA, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price set at $23.71, while Cantor Fitzgerald recently raised its price target to $29.00.

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZVRA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,900,000 shares, anincreaseof166.3% from the June 30th total of 1,840,000 shares. Currently,9.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 821,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 821,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days. Currently,9.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zevra Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Zevra Therapeutics by 6.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,761 shares of the company's stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 1,812 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Zevra Therapeutics by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,384 shares of the company's stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 3,007 shares during the last quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Zevra Therapeutics by 9.7% during the second quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 39,640 shares of the company's stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Zevra Therapeutics by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 26,294 shares of the company's stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 3,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Zevra Therapeutics by 2.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 153,331 shares of the company's stock worth $1,148,000 after buying an additional 3,827 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.03% of the company's stock.

Zevra Therapeutics Stock Performance

Zevra Therapeutics stock traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $11.88. 767,935 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 636,661. The firm has a market capitalization of $649.33 million, a PE ratio of -6.23 and a beta of 1.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 2.93 and a current ratio of 3.02. Zevra Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $6.19 and a fifty-two week high of $13.16.

Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.15. The business had revenue of $20.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.96 million. Zevra Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 201.05% and a negative net margin of 226.78%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.40) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Zevra Therapeutics will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZVRA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Zevra Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. HC Wainwright started coverage on Zevra Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Zevra Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Zevra Therapeutics from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $23.71.

About Zevra Therapeutics

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc discovers and develops various proprietary prodrugs to treat serious medical conditions in the United States. The company develops its products through Ligand Activated Therapy platform. Its lead product candidate is KP1077, consisting of KP1077IH, which is under Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of idiopathic hypersomnia, and KP1077N, which is under Phase ½ clinical trial to treat narcolepsy.