HC Wainwright Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for KALA BIO (NASDAQ:KALA)

KALA BIO (NASDAQ:KALA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $15.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 253.77% from the company’s current price.

KALA BIO Stock Down 8.4 %

KALA stock opened at $4.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.78. The company has a market cap of $25.83 million, a P/E ratio of -0.34 and a beta of -1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. KALA BIO has a fifty-two week low of $4.01 and a fifty-two week high of $11.20.

KALA BIO (NASDAQ:KALA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 28th. The company reported ($1.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.28) by $0.54. On average, research analysts expect that KALA BIO will post -10.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at KALA BIO

In other news, CEO Mark T. Iwicki sold 5,779 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.63, for a total value of $44,093.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 280,076 shares in the company, valued at $2,136,979.88. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,506 shares of company stock worth $72,531. Insiders own 8.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KALA BIO

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baker BROS. Advisors LP boosted its position in KALA BIO by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,201,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,341,000 after purchasing an additional 310,559 shares during the last quarter. SR One Capital Management LP increased its holdings in KALA BIO by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. SR One Capital Management LP now owns 598,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,157,000 after buying an additional 155,279 shares during the last quarter. Silverarc Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in KALA BIO in the fourth quarter worth about $1,604,000. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in KALA BIO by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 178,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 16,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KALA BIO during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $842,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.61% of the company’s stock.

About KALA BIO

KALA BIO, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, and commercialization of innovative therapies for rare and severe eye diseases in the United States. The company's product candidates include KPI-012, which is in Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defects.