Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS) Shares Up 7.6% – Here’s What Happened

Glaukos Corporation (NYSE:GKOS) was up 7.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $159.80 and last traded at $162.7730. Approximately 1,496,133 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 73% from the average session volume of 864,024 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Glaukos in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Glaukos from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Glaukos from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on Glaukos from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright started coverage on Glaukos in a research note on Monday, July 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Glaukos has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.23.

Glaukos Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 4.73 and a current ratio of 5.43. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a PE ratio of -50.31 and a beta of 0.75.

Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $150.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $137.00 million. Glaukos had a negative net margin of 34.34% and a negative return on equity of 6.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.22) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Glaukos Corporation will post -0.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Glaukos news, COO Joseph E. Gilliam sold 19,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.54, for a total transaction of $2,809,508.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 73,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,538,563.26. This trade represents a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Alex R. Thurman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $1,400,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,115,340. The trade was a 18.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,273 shares of company stock valued at $10,482,003. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Glaukos

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GKOS. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Glaukos by 460.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 60,232 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,801,000 after buying an additional 49,492 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new position in shares of Glaukos in the first quarter valued at approximately $363,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Glaukos by 32.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 355,279 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,336,000 after buying an additional 87,781 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of Glaukos by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 82,320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $9,295,000 after buying an additional 8,770 shares during the period. Finally, Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in Glaukos during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,775,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.04% of the company’s stock.

Glaukos Company Profile

Glaukos Corporation is a medical technology company specializing in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative therapies for patients with glaucoma and other chronic eye diseases. The company’s core offerings focus on micro-invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS), designed to reduce intraocular pressure and manage glaucoma more safely and effectively than traditional surgical approaches. Glaukos’s flagship products include the iStent, iStent inject and iStent infinite trabecular micro-bypass stents, which are implanted during cataract surgery to improve aqueous outflow and help control eye pressure.

Beyond its MIGS portfolio, Glaukos has expanded into sustained drug-delivery solutions.