Short Interest in Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT) Grows By 27.0%

Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,567,660 shares, an increase of 27.0% from the February 26th total of 5,169,383 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 479,761 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 13.7 days. Currently, 21.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Galectin Therapeutics news, CEO Joel Lewis sold 37,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.58, for a total value of $134,958.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 832,592 shares in the company, valued at $2,980,679.36. This represents a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Khurram Jamil sold 21,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.65, for a total value of $78,277.90. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 204,000 shares of company stock worth $787,433 in the last ninety days. 52.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Galectin Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Galectin Therapeutics by 1,197.3% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 5,699 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in Galectin Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Invesco Ltd. acquired a new position in Galectin Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in Galectin Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 101.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 38,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 19,316 shares during the last quarter. 11.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GALT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Galectin Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Galectin Therapeutics from $6.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Galectin Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Galectin Therapeutics Stock Up 8.6%

Shares of GALT traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $2.79. 214,859 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 339,321. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.87 million, a PE ratio of -4.73 and a beta of 0.98. Galectin Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.12 and a fifty-two week high of $7.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.23.

Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.02. Research analysts predict that Galectin Therapeutics will post -0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Galectin Therapeutics Company Profile

Galectin Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel therapies that target galectin proteins, which are implicated in fibrotic, inflammatory and malignant diseases. The company’s lead product candidate, belapectin (formerly GR-MD-02), is a galectin-3 inhibitor being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with cirrhosis. In addition to its core pipeline in fibrotic liver disease, Galectin Therapeutics continues to explore the potential of its galectin inhibitors in oncology and other indications driven by abnormal tissue remodeling.

Founded in 2000, the company is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, where it oversees discovery research, preclinical studies and clinical trial coordination.