KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 70,709 shares, an increase of 66.0% from the May 14th total of 42,592 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 69,148 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KALA BIO

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KALA. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of KALA BIO during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in KALA BIO during the 2nd quarter valued at $62,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in KALA BIO by 920.7% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 417,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 376,612 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in KALA BIO during the 4th quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in KALA BIO by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534 shares in the last quarter. 24.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of KALA BIO in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded KALA BIO from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,018.75.

KALA BIO Trading Up 0.4%

KALA stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Monday, reaching $2.64. The stock had a trading volume of 90,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,739. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.63. The company has a market capitalization of $49.08 million, a P/E ratio of -0.03 and a beta of -2.40. KALA BIO has a 1-year low of $2.03 and a 1-year high of $1,030.00.

KALA BIO (NASDAQ:KALA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($8.50) by $8.36.

KALA BIO Company Profile

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.