Glaukos Corporation (NYSE:GKOS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Moderate Buy consensus: sixteen analysts rate Glaukos as a "Moderate Buy" (12 buy, 1 strong buy, 2 sell, 1 hold) with an average 12‑month target price of $133.69.
• Mixed quarterly results: revenue rose 35.6% to $143.12M and beat estimates, but EPS missed at ($0.28) versus ($0.22) expected, leaving the company unprofitable and analysts projecting about -1.08 EPS for the year.
• Contrasting ownership moves: insiders sold heavily (CEO sold ~186,945 shares; insiders sold 236,602 shares totaling ~$27.6M last quarter) while large institutional investors significantly increased positions, with institutions owning roughly 99.04% of the stock.

Glaukos Corporation (NYSE:GKOS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $133.6923.

GKOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Glaukos from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Glaukos from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Glaukos from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $131.00 price objective on shares of Glaukos in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Glaukos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st.

Glaukos Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE:GKOS opened at $119.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.62 and a beta of 0.78. Glaukos has a 1-year low of $73.16 and a 1-year high of $130.23. The company's fifty day moving average price is $111.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 4.69 and a quick ratio of 4.06.

Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $143.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.16 million. Glaukos had a negative return on equity of 7.00% and a negative net margin of 36.99%.The firm's revenue was up 35.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.40) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Glaukos will post -1.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Glaukos

In related news, Director Aimee S. Weisner sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.38, for a total transaction of $1,760,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,207,448.28. This trade represents a 44.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas William Burns sold 186,945 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $21,498,675.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 153,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,684,125. This represents a 54.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 236,602 shares of company stock valued at $27,565,944 in the last quarter. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Glaukos

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GKOS. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Glaukos by 183.4% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,018,787 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $340,855,000 after buying an additional 1,953,578 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in Glaukos by 49.8% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,376,928 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $381,289,000 after buying an additional 1,123,140 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Glaukos by 209.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,350,425 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $152,476,000 after buying an additional 913,458 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Glaukos by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,609,699 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $181,751,000 after buying an additional 691,289 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its position in Glaukos by 316.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.04% of the company's stock.

Glaukos Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.