KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,830,724 shares, an increase of 600.0% from the February 26th total of 975,765 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 32,644,607 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of KALA BIO in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.38.

KALA BIO Price Performance

Shares of KALA traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $0.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,100,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,315,295. KALA BIO has a 52-week low of $0.20 and a 52-week high of $20.60. The company has a market cap of $182.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.03 and a beta of -2.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $0.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.47.

Institutional Trading of KALA BIO

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of KALA BIO in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in KALA BIO during the second quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in KALA BIO in the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KALA BIO by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 1,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its position in shares of KALA BIO by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,804,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after buying an additional 818,962 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.61% of the company’s stock.

About KALA BIO

KALA Bio (NASDAQ: KALA) is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapies for ocular diseases. The company’s proprietary surface charge–based nanoparticle delivery platform is designed to enhance penetration and retention of therapeutic agents on the ocular surface. This technology is the basis for its lead product, Eysuvis (KPI-121 1.0%), an FDA-approved topical corticosteroid for short-term relief of ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis.

Beyond its approved therapy, KALA Bio is advancing a pipeline of investigational drug candidates targeting inflammatory and degenerative eye conditions.