Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

GALT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Galectin Therapeutics from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Galectin Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Galectin Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Galectin Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Galectin Therapeutics Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of GALT opened at $3.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.79 million, a PE ratio of -7.66 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.99. Galectin Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $2.03 and a 52-week high of $7.13.

Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.02). On average, equities analysts expect that Galectin Therapeutics will post -0.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Khurram Jamil sold 47,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.04, for a total transaction of $239,233.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,266.48. This represents a 95.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Harold H. Shlevin sold 22,268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.04, for a total transaction of $112,230.72. Following the sale, the director owned 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,760. The trade was a 77.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 90,162 shares of company stock worth $438,464 over the last quarter. Insiders own 52.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Galectin Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Argyle Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $62,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Galectin Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $491,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 114.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 53,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares during the period. Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 258,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 54,514 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Galectin Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $413,000. 11.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Galectin Therapeutics Company Profile

Galectin Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel therapies that target galectin proteins, which are implicated in fibrotic, inflammatory and malignant diseases. The company’s lead product candidate, belapectin (formerly GR-MD-02), is a galectin-3 inhibitor being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with cirrhosis. In addition to its core pipeline in fibrotic liver disease, Galectin Therapeutics continues to explore the potential of its galectin inhibitors in oncology and other indications driven by abnormal tissue remodeling.

Founded in 2000, the company is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, where it oversees discovery research, preclinical studies and clinical trial coordination.