KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) Stock Short Interest Rises 205.1%

KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) saw a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,358,824 shares, a growth of 205.1% from the September 15th total of 445,421 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,221,878 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days. Currently, 7.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KALA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of KALA BIO in a report on Monday, September 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of KALA BIO from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KALA BIO presently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KALA BIO

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of KALA BIO by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,804,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 818,962 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of KALA BIO by 920.7% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 417,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 376,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KALA BIO during the second quarter worth approximately $124,000. Institutional investors own 24.61% of the company’s stock.

KALA BIO Stock Performance

KALA BIO stock opened at $0.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.03 million, a P/E ratio of -0.01 and a beta of -2.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $0.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.76. KALA BIO has a 52 week low of $0.26 and a 52 week high of $95.50.

KALA BIO (NASDAQ:KALA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The company reported ($21.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($6.00) by ($15.32).

About KALA BIO

KALA BIO, Inc, formerly known as Kala Pharmaceuticals, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for severe diseases affecting the eye. The company’s research has centered on therapies designed to address conditions for which available treatment options may be limited or inadequate.

KALA BIO’s lead investigational product has been KPI-012, an ophthalmic biologic being studied for rare corneal conditions, including persistent corneal epithelial defects. The company has also developed therapies using its proprietary mucus-penetrating particle technology, which is intended to improve the delivery of medicines to ocular tissues.

Historically, the company developed and commercialized EYSUVIS, a corticosteroid eye drop approved in the United States for the short-term treatment of dry-eye disease, and XIPERE, an injectable treatment for macular edema associated with uveitis.