Short Interest in KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) Increases By 236.8%

KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 218,549 shares, an increase of 236.8% from the June 15th total of 64,883 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 213,635 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KALA shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded KALA BIO from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of KALA BIO in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KALA BIO presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,158.33.

KALA BIO Price Performance

KALA opened at $1.18 on Monday. KALA BIO has a 12 month low of $1.16 and a 12 month high of $1,030.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.84 million, a P/E ratio of -0.01 and a beta of -2.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.33.

KALA BIO (NASDAQ:KALA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($8.50) by $8.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KALA BIO

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of KALA BIO in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,483,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in KALA BIO by 2.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 56,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 1,534 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in KALA BIO during the second quarter worth about $62,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in KALA BIO during the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP grew its position in KALA BIO by 83.1% during the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,804,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,000 after buying an additional 818,962 shares during the period. 24.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About KALA BIO

KALA Bio (NASDAQ: KALA) is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapies for ocular diseases. The company’s proprietary surface charge–based nanoparticle delivery platform is designed to enhance penetration and retention of therapeutic agents on the ocular surface. This technology is the basis for its lead product, Eysuvis (KPI-121 1.0%), an FDA-approved topical corticosteroid for short-term relief of ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis.

Beyond its approved therapy, KALA Bio is advancing a pipeline of investigational drug candidates targeting inflammatory and degenerative eye conditions.