Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Galectin Therapeutics from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Galectin Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Galectin Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Galectin Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.00.

Galectin Therapeutics Stock Performance

GALT opened at $3.14 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3.56 and a 200-day moving average of $2.99. The company has a market capitalization of $206.79 million, a P/E ratio of -7.66 and a beta of 0.41. Galectin Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $2.03 and a 1-year high of $7.13.

Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.02). As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Galectin Therapeutics will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Harold H. Shlevin sold 22,268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.04, for a total transaction of $112,230.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,500 shares in the company, valued at $32,760. This represents a 77.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Khurram Jamil sold 47,467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.04, for a total value of $239,233.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,037 shares in the company, valued at $10,266.48. This represents a 95.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 90,162 shares of company stock worth $438,464 over the last quarter. Insiders own 52.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Galectin Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GALT. Argyle Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Galectin Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Galectin Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $491,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 114.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 53,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 28,799 shares during the period. Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 26.7% during the first quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 258,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $721,000 after buying an additional 54,514 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Galectin Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $413,000. 11.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.