Great Lakes Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 113,301 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,259 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.21% of Glaukos worth $16,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GKOS. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Glaukos during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Glaukos during the fourth quarter worth $90,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Glaukos by 2,263.2% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Glaukos during the fourth quarter worth $153,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Glaukos by 275.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. 99.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Joseph E. Gilliam sold 3,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $498,700.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 102,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,310,024.65. This trade represents a 3.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Tomas Navratil sold 3,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.14, for a total transaction of $502,630.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 72,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,658,380.18. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,744 shares of company stock worth $2,504,131 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Glaukos from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $162.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Glaukos in a report on Friday, December 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Glaukos from $140.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Glaukos from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Glaukos to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.25.

Glaukos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GKOS opened at $103.13 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.93 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 4.71, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Glaukos Co. has a 52 week low of $84.08 and a 52 week high of $163.71.

Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.38) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $105.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.72 million. Glaukos had a negative net margin of 39.04% and a negative return on equity of 16.53%. On average, equities analysts predict that Glaukos Co. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Glaukos Company Profile

Glaukos Corporation, an ophthalmic pharmaceutical and medical technology company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for the treatment of glaucoma, corneal disorders, and retinal diseases. It offers iStent and iStent inject W micro-bypass stents that enhance aqueous humor outflow inserted in cataract surgery to treat mild-to-moderate open-angle glaucoma.