Comerica Bank Cuts Stake in Glaukos Corporation $GKOS

Key Points

• Comerica Bank cut its stake in Glaukos by 94.7%, selling 228,761 shares in Q4 and retaining 12,885 shares valued at about $1.455 million as of the latest 13F filing.
• Company insiders have been selling recently — Director Leana Wen sold 1,700 shares and CFO Alex R. Thurman sold 10,000 shares, and insiders have disposed of 50,930 shares worth $6.7 million over the past 90 days (insiders now own 5.8% of the stock).
• Glaukos reported better-than-expected Q1 results with revenue up 41.2% and an EPS beat, but remains unprofitable; Wall Street consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with a $144.42 target and several recent price-target upgrades from major brokers.

Comerica Bank reduced its stake in shares of Glaukos Corporation (NYSE:GKOS - Free Report) by 94.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,885 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 228,761 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Glaukos were worth $1,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Glaukos by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,211 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Glaukos by 316.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 873,942 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $98,677,000 after buying an additional 663,849 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Glaukos during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $237,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Glaukos by 683.7% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 28,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,232,000 after buying an additional 24,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in Glaukos by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 42,996 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,855,000 after buying an additional 11,821 shares in the last quarter. 99.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Leana Wen sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.35, for a total transaction of $243,695.00. Following the sale, the director owned 19,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,829,585.65. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alex R. Thurman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $1,400,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 43,681 shares in the company, valued at $6,115,340. The trade was a 18.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,930 shares of company stock worth $6,703,263. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GKOS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Glaukos in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Glaukos from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Glaukos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Glaukos from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Glaukos from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.42.

Glaukos Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE GKOS opened at $134.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 4.73 and a current ratio of 5.43. The company has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.96 and a beta of 0.94. Glaukos Corporation has a one year low of $73.16 and a one year high of $146.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $114.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.04.

Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $150.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $137.00 million. Glaukos had a negative return on equity of 6.92% and a negative net margin of 34.34%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 41.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.22) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Glaukos Corporation will post -0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Glaukos

Glaukos Corporation is a medical technology company specializing in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative therapies for patients with glaucoma and other chronic eye diseases. The company's core offerings focus on micro-invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS), designed to reduce intraocular pressure and manage glaucoma more safely and effectively than traditional surgical approaches. Glaukos's flagship products include the iStent, iStent inject and iStent infinite trabecular micro-bypass stents, which are implanted during cataract surgery to improve aqueous outflow and help control eye pressure.

Beyond its MIGS portfolio, Glaukos has expanded into sustained drug-delivery solutions.

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