KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) Short Interest Update

KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 25,600 shares, an increase of 19.1% from the December 15th total of 21,500 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 34,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at KALA BIO

In other KALA BIO news, major shareholder Bros. Advisors Lp Baker acquired 310,559 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.44 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,999.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,083,398 shares in the company, valued at $6,977,083.12. This represents a 40.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark T. Iwicki sold 5,779 shares of KALA BIO stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.63, for a total value of $44,093.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 280,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,136,979.88. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,506 shares of company stock valued at $72,531 in the last ninety days. 8.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KALA BIO

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in KALA BIO stock. SR One Capital Management LP acquired a new position in KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 443,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,146,000. KALA BIO comprises about 1.0% of SR One Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. SR One Capital Management LP owned approximately 15.76% of KALA BIO at the end of the most recent reporting period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of KALA BIO in a report on Friday, November 15th.

KALA BIO Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of KALA opened at $7.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.58 and a beta of -2.11. KALA BIO has a 52 week low of $4.21 and a 52 week high of $8.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.69 and a 200-day moving average of $6.37.

KALA BIO (NASDAQ:KALA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($1.93) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.43) by $0.50. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KALA BIO will post -10.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About KALA BIO

KALA BIO, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, and commercialization of innovative therapies for rare and severe eye diseases in the United States. The company's product candidates include KPI-012, which is in Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defects.