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

KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,700 shares, an increase of 28.3% from the May 15th total of 6,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KALA BIO news, CEO Mark T. Iwicki sold 7,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.09, for a total transaction of $45,017.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 278,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,698,641.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,271 shares of company stock worth $68,640. Insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KALA BIO

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in KALA BIO stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in shares of KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC owned about 0.16% of KALA BIO at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.61% of the company’s stock.

KALA BIO Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KALA traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $5.96. 13,690 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,399. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.39 and a beta of -1.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $6.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.92, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22. KALA BIO has a twelve month low of $5.10 and a twelve month high of $16.83.

KALA BIO (NASDAQ:KALA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The company reported ($4.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.89) by ($1.31). On average, analysts expect that KALA BIO will post -14.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright lowered their target price on shares of KALA BIO from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of KALA BIO in a research report on Monday, April 1st.

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.