Short Interest in KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) Expands By 66.0%

KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) was the target of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 70,709 shares, an increase of 66.0% from the May 14th total of 42,592 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 69,148 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Institutional Trading of KALA BIO

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KALA. Baker BROS. Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of KALA BIO by 83.1% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,804,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 818,962 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of KALA BIO by 920.7% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 417,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 376,612 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of KALA BIO in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,483,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of KALA BIO in the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in KALA BIO in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. 24.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KALA has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised KALA BIO from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of KALA BIO in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,018.75.

KALA BIO Stock Up 18.9%

Shares of KALA stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.14. 174,273 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 92,154. KALA BIO has a 12 month low of $2.03 and a 12 month high of $1,030.00. The company has a market cap of $58.37 million, a P/E ratio of -0.03 and a beta of -2.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.12.

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

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.