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

Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 25,059 shares, a decrease of 36.9% from the April 30th total of 39,739 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 16,127 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Sol-Gel Technologies Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ SLGL opened at $71.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $200.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -211.76 and a beta of 1.13. Sol-Gel Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $6.80 and a fifty-two week high of $97.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.64 and a 200-day moving average of $64.62.

Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported ($1.31) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.86) by $1.55. The business had revenue of $0.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.90 million. Sol-Gel Technologies had a negative net margin of 5.66% and a negative return on equity of 3.17%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sol-Gel Technologies will post -8.99 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a report on Friday, May 29th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Lifesci Capital upgraded Sol-Gel Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sol-Gel Technologies from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Sol-Gel Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.00.

Insider Transactions at Sol-Gel Technologies

In other news, major shareholder Opaleye Management Inc. acquired 1,937 shares of Sol-Gel Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.87 per share, for a total transaction of $129,527.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 488,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,661,782.19. This trade represents a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 66.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Opaleye Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sol-Gel Technologies by 121.5% during the 4th quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 453,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,121,000 after purchasing an additional 248,904 shares during the period. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sol-Gel Technologies during the first quarter worth about $2,773,000. Finally, Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Sol-Gel Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $748,000. 26.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sol-Gel Technologies Company Profile

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.