Stonepine Capital Management LLC Sells 278,659 Shares of Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG)

Stonepine Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG - Free Report) by 58.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 200,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 278,659 shares during the period. Galapagos makes up about 4.4% of Stonepine Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Stonepine Capital Management LLC owned 0.30% of Galapagos worth $5,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tang Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Galapagos by 208.7% in the 4th quarter. Tang Capital Management LLC now owns 2,161,200 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,200 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Galapagos by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 554,300 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $15,243,000 after purchasing an additional 44,300 shares during the last quarter. Deep Track Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Galapagos during the fourth quarter worth about $21,471,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Galapagos by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,454 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 3,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Galapagos by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,972 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 2,824 shares during the last quarter. 32.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Galapagos Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Galapagos stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.99. 534,736 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 237,117. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $25.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.91. Galapagos NV has a 52 week low of $22.36 and a 52 week high of $31.23.

Galapagos (NASDAQ:GLPG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($2.47) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($2.24). The company had revenue of $97.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.22 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Galapagos NV will post -1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GLPG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Galapagos from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $31.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Galapagos in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Galapagos from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Galapagos currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $25.33.

Galapagos Profile

Galapagos NV, a biotechnology company, develops medicines focusing on oncology and immunology primarily in the United States and Europe. The company's pipeline products comprise GLPG3667 that has completed phase 1b trial; GLPG5101, a CD19 CAR-T product candidate manufactured at point-of-care, currently in Phase1/2 trial in relapsed/refractory non-hodgkin lymphoma; GLPG5201, a CD19 CAR-T product candidates manufactured at point-of-care, currently in phase 1/2 trial in replapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia; and GLPG5301, a BCMA CAR-T product candidate manufactured at point-of-care, currently in phase 1/2 in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.