Short Interest in KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) Declines By 40.6%

KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) was the target 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 daily volume of 1,744,159 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 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 daily volume of 1,744,159 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Insider Activity at KALA BIO

In related news, Director Todd Bazemore sold 47,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.83, for a total transaction of $39,647.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,823.56. This represents a 57.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Romulus K. Brazzell sold 46,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.83, for a total value of $38,800.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,952 shares in the company, valued at $29,840.16. The trade was a 56.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 303,413 shares of company stock valued at $248,725 in the last quarter. 2.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KALA. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of KALA BIO in the second quarter valued at $62,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of KALA BIO by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 1,534 shares in the last quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KALA BIO by 52.8% in the 2nd quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,428,000 after buying an additional 103,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of KALA BIO during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,483,000. 24.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KALA. Lifesci Capital cut shares of KALA BIO from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut KALA BIO from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of KALA BIO in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Mizuho set a $1.50 target price on shares of KALA BIO in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of KALA BIO in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KALA BIO presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.38.

KALA BIO Stock Performance

Shares of KALA BIO stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $0.68. 4,463,126 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,121,241. KALA BIO has a 52 week low of $0.51 and a 52 week high of $20.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $0.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.64 million, a P/E ratio of -0.11 and a beta of -2.43.

KALA BIO (NASDAQ:KALA) last posted its 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). Research analysts expect that KALA BIO will post -10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

KALA BIO Company Profile

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.