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

Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL) saw a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 12,551 shares, a drop of 31.7% from the March 15th total of 18,373 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 42,875 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Sol-Gel Technologies

In related news, major shareholder Opaleye Management Inc. acquired 2,173 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $56.57 per share, for a total transaction of $122,926.61. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 448,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,382,563.01. This represents a 0.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders acquired a total of 3,424 shares of company stock worth $193,065 in the last three months. 66.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Sol-Gel Technologies stock. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 17,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $748,000. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. owned 0.64% of Sol-Gel Technologies as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Sol-Gel Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sol-Gel Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.00.

Sol-Gel Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of SLGL stock traded up $1.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,832. The stock has a market cap of $212.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.66 and a beta of 1.26. Sol-Gel Technologies has a 52-week low of $4.11 and a 52-week high of $97.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.68.

Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($1.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($1.46). Sol-Gel Technologies had a negative return on equity of 24.29% and a negative net margin of 31.60%.The business had revenue of $0.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.50 million. Equities research analysts predict that Sol-Gel Technologies will post -0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.