Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT) Short Interest Up 27.0% in March

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 27% in March to 6,567,660 shares (up from 5,169,383 on Feb. 26), equal to 21.5% of the company's shares and a short-interest ratio of 13.7 days.
• Company insiders have been selling recently — including CEO Joel Lewis (37,698 shares) and Khurram Jamil (21,446 shares) — with a total of 204,000 insider shares sold (~$787,433) in the last 90 days, though insiders still own 52.60% of the stock.
• Analyst views are mixed: HC Wainwright raised its target to $11 and issued a "buy," while Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell," leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,567,660 shares, an increase of 27.0% from the February 26th total of 5,169,383 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 479,761 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 13.7 days. Currently, 21.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on GALT. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Galectin Therapeutics from $6.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Galectin Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Joel Lewis sold 37,698 shares of Galectin Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.58, for a total transaction of $134,958.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 832,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,679.36. The trade was a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Khurram Jamil sold 21,446 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.65, for a total value of $78,277.90. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 204,000 shares of company stock valued at $787,433 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 52.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Galectin Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tulsa Wealth Advisors INC purchased a new position in Galectin Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Virtu Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 53,551 shares of the company's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 14,583 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Galectin Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $592,000. 11.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Galectin Therapeutics Stock Down 3.7%

NASDAQ GALT traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $2.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 40,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,733. Galectin Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $1.12 and a 1 year high of $7.13. The company has a market capitalization of $166.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.37 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $2.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.25.

About Galectin Therapeutics

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.

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