Kura Sushi USA (NASDAQ:KRUS) Shares Down 6.1% After Analyst Downgrade

Kura Sushi USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRUS) shares were down 6.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $116.00 to $71.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Kura Sushi USA traded as low as $55.13 and last traded at $55.00. Approximately 33,554 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 185,904 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.58.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on KRUS. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Kura Sushi USA from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Kura Sushi USA in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. TD Securities began coverage on Kura Sushi USA in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of Kura Sushi USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on the stock 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.50.

Insider Activity at Kura Sushi USA

In other news, Director Seitaro Ishii sold 6,918 shares of Kura Sushi USA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total value of $574,401.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,313 shares in the company, valued at $109,018.39. This trade represents a 84.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kura Sushi USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Kura Sushi USA by 237.9% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 669 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Kura Sushi USA by 45.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,246,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,407,000 after purchasing an additional 390,688 shares during the last quarter. Millrace Asset Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Kura Sushi USA during the third quarter valued at about $790,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Kura Sushi USA by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kura Sushi USA by 914.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 51,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,160,000 after buying an additional 46,549 shares during the period. 65.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kura Sushi USA Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $660.20 million, a PE ratio of -81.40 and a beta of 1.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.05.

Kura Sushi USA (NASDAQ:KRUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts expect that Kura Sushi USA, Inc. will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

About Kura Sushi USA