Short Interest in Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL) Increases By 111.8%

Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 53,063 shares, a growth of 111.8% from the May 14th total of 25,059 shares. Currently, 5.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 45,645 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Opaleye Management Inc. acquired 1,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.87 per share, for a total transaction of $129,527.19. Following the purchase, the insider owned 488,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,661,782.19. This represents a 0.40% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 66.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLGL. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Sol-Gel Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $748,000. Opaleye Management Inc. increased its position in Sol-Gel Technologies by 121.5% during the fourth quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 453,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,121,000 after buying an additional 248,904 shares during the period. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sol-Gel Technologies during the first quarter worth approximately $2,773,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLGL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Sol-Gel Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Sol-Gel Technologies from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Lifesci Capital upgraded Sol-Gel Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Sol-Gel Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 29th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sol-Gel Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.00.

Sol-Gel Technologies Trading Down 2.5%

SLGL stock traded down $1.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.44. 44,670 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,584. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.99 and a beta of 1.13. Sol-Gel Technologies has a 52-week low of $6.90 and a 52-week high of $97.97.

Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported ($1.31) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.86) by $1.55. The company had revenue of $0.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.90 million. Sol-Gel Technologies had a negative return on equity of 3.17% and a negative net margin of 5.66%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sol-Gel Technologies will post -8.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sol-Gel Technologies Company Profile

Sol-Gel Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: SLGL) is a U.S.-based advanced materials company specializing in the development and commercialization of nanostructured materials using proprietary sol-gel processes. Leveraging expertise in materials chemistry and thin-film deposition, the company focuses on the production of metal oxide powders, sols, coatings and functional inks designed to enhance performance in a variety of industrial and commercial applications.

The company’s product portfolio includes corrosion- and abrasion-resistant coatings, dielectric and conductive films, catalyst supports and specialty fillers.