Alliancebernstein L.P. Acquires 755,035 Shares of Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS)

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS) by 1,235.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 816,153 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 755,035 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Glaukos were worth $122,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Glaukos by 294.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,183,766 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $284,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,270 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Glaukos during the 4th quarter worth $121,390,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Glaukos during the 4th quarter worth about $84,490,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Glaukos in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,910,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Glaukos by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,974,971 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $895,887,000 after buying an additional 101,838 shares during the period. 99.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Glaukos Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GKOS opened at $100.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 4.71 and a current ratio of 5.54. Glaukos Co. has a 52-week low of $89.94 and a 52-week high of $163.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.14. The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.87 and a beta of 0.99.

Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.02). Glaukos had a negative net margin of 39.04% and a negative return on equity of 16.53%. The business had revenue of $105.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.72 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Glaukos Co. will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on GKOS. Citigroup raised Glaukos from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $162.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho raised shares of Glaukos from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Glaukos from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Glaukos in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Glaukos from $149.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Glaukos has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.25.

Insider Transactions at Glaukos

In other news, insider Tomas Navratil sold 3,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.14, for a total value of $502,630.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 72,437 shares in the company, valued at $10,658,380.18. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alex R. Thurman sold 1,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total value of $162,396.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,568.04. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Glaukos

Glaukos Corporation, an ophthalmic pharmaceutical and medical technology company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for the treatment of glaucoma, corneal disorders, and retinal diseases. It offers iStent and iStent inject W micro-bypass stents that enhance aqueous humor outflow inserted in cataract surgery to treat mild-to-moderate open-angle glaucoma.