Nuveen Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 314,963 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 2,665 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.57% of Glaukos worth $47,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Glaukos in the fourth quarter valued at about $121,390,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Glaukos by 1,235.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 816,153 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $122,374,000 after purchasing an additional 755,035 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Glaukos during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,490,000. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC grew its holdings in Glaukos by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 825,276 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $123,742,000 after buying an additional 166,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Glaukos by 266.2% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 200,698 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $30,093,000 after buying an additional 145,890 shares during the last quarter. 99.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Glaukos Trading Up 2.7%

GKOS stock traded up $2.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $97.38. The company had a trading volume of 864,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,815. Glaukos Co. has a 52-week low of $77.10 and a 52-week high of $163.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 4.71, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.11. Glaukos had a negative net margin of 39.04% and a negative return on equity of 16.53%. The firm had revenue of $106.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.70) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Glaukos Co. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GKOS shares. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Glaukos from $140.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Glaukos from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Glaukos from $110.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Glaukos from $200.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Glaukos from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.67.

Insider Transactions at Glaukos

In related news, CFO Alex R. Thurman sold 1,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total value of $162,396.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,708,568.04. This represents a 2.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.80% of the company's stock.

Glaukos Profile

Glaukos Corporation, an ophthalmic pharmaceutical and medical technology company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for the treatment of glaucoma, corneal disorders, and retinal diseases. It offers iStent and iStent inject W micro-bypass stents that enhance aqueous humor outflow inserted in cataract surgery to treat mild-to-moderate open-angle glaucoma.