KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 205.1% in September

KALA BIO, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALA) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,358,824 shares, an increase of 205.1% from the September 15th total of 445,421 shares. Currently, 7.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 6,221,878 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Institutional Trading of KALA BIO

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of KALA BIO by 83.1% during the fourth 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 stake in shares of KALA BIO by 920.7% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 417,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 376,612 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in KALA BIO during the 2nd quarter valued at $124,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded KALA BIO from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of KALA BIO in a research report on Monday, September 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KALA BIO presently has an average rating of “Sell”.

KALA BIO Stock Down 7.1%

Shares of NASDAQ KALA traded down $0.02 on Tuesday, hitting $0.26. The company had a trading volume of 422,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 565,609. KALA BIO has a 12-month low of $0.26 and a 12-month high of $95.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $0.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.03 million, a P/E ratio of -0.01 and a beta of -2.40.

KALA BIO (NASDAQ:KALA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The company reported ($21.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($6.00) by ($15.32).

About KALA BIO

KALA BIO, Inc, formerly known as Kala Pharmaceuticals, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for severe diseases affecting the eye. The company’s research has centered on therapies designed to address conditions for which available treatment options may be limited or inadequate.

KALA BIO’s lead investigational product has been KPI-012, an ophthalmic biologic being studied for rare corneal conditions, including persistent corneal epithelial defects. The company has also developed therapies using its proprietary mucus-penetrating particle technology, which is intended to improve the delivery of medicines to ocular tissues.

Historically, the company developed and commercialized EYSUVIS, a corticosteroid eye drop approved in the United States for the short-term treatment of dry-eye disease, and XIPERE, an injectable treatment for macular edema associated with uveitis.