Short Interest in Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT) Grows By 41.1%

Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,270,000 shares, a growth of 41.1% from the November 30th total of 5,860,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 494,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 16.7 days. Currently, 19.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Galectin Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Jack W. Callicutt sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.89, for a total value of $35,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,776.46. This represents a 84.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joel Lewis sold 56,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.89, for a total transaction of $49,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 897,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $798,340.68. This represents a 5.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $23,000 and have sold 109,654 shares valued at $97,456. Insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GALT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Galectin Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $146,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 317.6% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 483,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 367,610 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Galectin Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Galectin Therapeutics by 75.4% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 84,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 36,139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.68% of the company’s stock.

Galectin Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of GALT stock traded down $0.05 on Monday, hitting $1.10. 888,134 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 267,480. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.51 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.43. Galectin Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.73 and a one year high of $4.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Galectin Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Galectin Therapeutics in a report on Friday.

About Galectin Therapeutics

Galectin Therapeutics Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research and development of therapies for fibrotic, cancer, and other diseases. Its lead product candidate is belapectin (GR-MD-02) galectin-3 inhibitor, that is in Phase 2b/3 clinical trial, to prevent esophageal varices in patient with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) cirrhosis; and Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of liver fibrosis, as well as severe skin disease, and melanoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.