Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Galectin Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Galectin Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Galectin Therapeutics from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Galectin Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of GALT stock opened at $5.34 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $351.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.02 and a beta of 0.35. Galectin Therapeutics has a one year low of $2.03 and a one year high of $7.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.00.

Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.02). As a group, equities analysts forecast that Galectin Therapeutics will post -0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Khurram Jamil sold 47,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.04, for a total value of $239,233.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,266.48. This trade represents a 95.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Harold H. Shlevin sold 22,268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.04, for a total transaction of $112,230.72. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,760. This trade represents a 77.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 90,162 shares of company stock worth $438,464. Insiders own 52.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GALT. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 1,197.3% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 5,699 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. acquired a new stake in Galectin Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in Galectin Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Galectin Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 25.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 3,133 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.68% of the company’s stock.

Galectin Therapeutics Company Profile

Galectin Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel therapies that target galectin proteins, which are implicated in fibrotic, inflammatory and malignant diseases. The company’s lead product candidate, belapectin (formerly GR-MD-02), is a galectin-3 inhibitor being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with cirrhosis. In addition to its core pipeline in fibrotic liver disease, Galectin Therapeutics continues to explore the potential of its galectin inhibitors in oncology and other indications driven by abnormal tissue remodeling.

Founded in 2000, the company is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, where it oversees discovery research, preclinical studies and clinical trial coordination.