Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL) Short Interest Update

Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 39,739 shares, an increase of 112.6% from the April 15th total of 18,688 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 31,638 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLGL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sol-Gel Technologies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Lifesci Capital upgraded Sol-Gel Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Sol-Gel Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sol-Gel Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.00.

Sol-Gel Technologies Stock Up 5.9%

Shares of NASDAQ SLGL opened at $72.72 on Friday. Sol-Gel Technologies has a 12-month low of $6.80 and a 12-month high of $97.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.00. The firm has a market cap of $204.34 million, a PE ratio of -32.61 and a beta of 1.16.

Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($1.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($1.46). The company had revenue of $0.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.50 million. Sol-Gel Technologies had a negative net margin of 31.60% and a negative return on equity of 24.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Opaleye Management Inc. bought 1,937 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.87 per share, with a total value of $129,527.19. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 488,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,661,782.19. This represents a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 66.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sol-Gel Technologies in the first quarter worth about $2,773,000. Opaleye Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sol-Gel Technologies by 121.5% during the 4th quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 453,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,121,000 after purchasing an additional 248,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Sol-Gel Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $748,000. Institutional investors own 26.18% of the company’s stock.

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.