KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) Short Interest Up 19.1% in January

KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,600 shares, a growth of 19.1% from the December 31st total of 21,500 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 34,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days.

KALA BIO Stock Performance

Shares of KALA stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.20. The company had a trading volume of 188,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,641. The stock has a market cap of $56.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.74 and a beta of -2.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.44. KALA BIO has a 52-week low of $4.21 and a 52-week high of $9.74.

KALA BIO (NASDAQ:KALA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($1.93) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.43) by $0.50. Research analysts anticipate that KALA BIO will post -10.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of KALA BIO in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Activity at KALA BIO

In other KALA BIO news, major shareholder Bros. Advisors Lp Baker purchased 310,559 shares of KALA BIO stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.44 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,999.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,083,398 shares in the company, valued at $6,977,083.12. This trade represents a 40.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark T. Iwicki sold 5,779 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.63, for a total transaction of $44,093.77. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 280,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,136,979.88. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,506 shares of company stock valued at $72,531 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.32% 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.