Short Interest in Kura Sushi USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRUS) Declines By 17.2%

Kura Sushi USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRUS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, a decrease of 17.2% from the February 13th total of 1,220,000 shares. Currently, 16.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 186,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Seitaro Ishii sold 6,918 shares of Kura Sushi USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total value of $574,401.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at $109,018.39. The trade was a 84.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kura Sushi USA

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new position in Kura Sushi USA during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kura Sushi USA by 237.9% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 669 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Kura Sushi USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Kura Sushi USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Kura Sushi USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $109,000. 65.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on KRUS. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Kura Sushi USA in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a "hold" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. TD Securities assumed coverage on shares of Kura Sushi USA in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of Kura Sushi USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $103.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kura Sushi USA in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kura Sushi USA has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.20.

Kura Sushi USA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KRUS traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $55.13. 282,096 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 184,881. The company's 50-day moving average is $69.52 and its 200-day moving average is $82.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $665.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -81.07 and a beta of 1.82. Kura Sushi USA has a 52-week low of $48.66 and a 52-week high of $122.81.

Kura Sushi USA (NASDAQ:KRUS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.16. Kura Sushi USA had a negative net margin of 3.08% and a negative return on equity of 0.50%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kura Sushi USA will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Kura Sushi USA