Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,318 shares, a drop of 67.2% from the December 15th total of 16,198 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 24,980 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 24,980 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Sol-Gel Technologies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sol-Gel Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sol-Gel Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.00.

Sol-Gel Technologies Stock Up 5.1%

Sol-Gel Technologies stock traded up $3.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.13. 13,501 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,476. Sol-Gel Technologies has a twelve month low of $4.02 and a twelve month high of $66.50. The company has a market cap of $184.49 million, a P/E ratio of -20.28 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.34 and a 200-day moving average of $29.49.

Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported ($2.13) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.09) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $0.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.30 million. Sol-Gel Technologies had a negative return on equity of 33.61% and a negative net margin of 47.37%. Equities research analysts expect that Sol-Gel Technologies will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Opaleye Management Inc. bought 35,169 shares of Sol-Gel Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $41.99 per share, with a total value of $1,476,746.31. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 421,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,687,951.58. This trade represents a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders acquired a total of 78,808 shares of company stock worth $3,271,461 over the last quarter. Insiders own 66.51% of the company’s stock.

About Sol-Gel Technologies

Sol-Gel Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: SLGL) is a U.S.-based advanced materials company specializing in the development and commercialization of nanostructured materials using proprietary sol-gel processes. Leveraging expertise in materials chemistry and thin-film deposition, the company focuses on the production of metal oxide powders, sols, coatings and functional inks designed to enhance performance in a variety of industrial and commercial applications.

The company’s product portfolio includes corrosion- and abrasion-resistant coatings, dielectric and conductive films, catalyst supports and specialty fillers.