KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) Short Interest Down 40.6% in December

KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 551,064 shares, a decline of 40.6% from the December 15th total of 928,449 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,744,159 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days. Currently, 5.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 5.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,744,159 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KALA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded KALA BIO from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Lifesci Capital downgraded KALA BIO from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Mizuho set a $1.50 price objective on shares of KALA BIO in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of KALA BIO in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of KALA BIO in a research report on Monday, September 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KALA BIO currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at KALA BIO

In other news, Director Mark T. Iwicki sold 154,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.81, for a total value of $125,464.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 103,540 shares in the company, valued at $83,867.40. This represents a 59.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Todd Bazemore sold 47,768 shares of KALA BIO stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.83, for a total value of $39,647.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,932 shares in the company, valued at $29,823.56. This trade represents a 57.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 303,413 shares of company stock worth $248,725. 2.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AIGH Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of KALA BIO by 52.8% during the second quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after buying an additional 103,650 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in KALA BIO in the 1st quarter valued at $1,483,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in KALA BIO by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in KALA BIO in the second quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors own 24.61% of the company’s stock.

KALA BIO Stock Performance

Shares of KALA traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $0.68. 4,463,126 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,121,241. The company has a market cap of $6.64 million, a PE ratio of -0.11 and a beta of -2.43. KALA BIO has a 52-week low of $0.51 and a 52-week high of $20.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $0.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.99.

KALA BIO (NASDAQ:KALA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The company reported ($1.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.01) by ($0.06). On average, sell-side analysts predict that KALA BIO will post -10.84 EPS for the current year.

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.