Lightwave Logic Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest rose 13.8% in April to 14,671,893 shares (about 10% of the float), giving a short-interest ratio of 1.9 days based on average daily volume.
• Shares opened at $13.72 (up ~16.7%) and trade near a 52‑week high, but the company is unprofitable (‑$0.04 EPS last quarter, minimal revenue and an extreme negative net margin) with a market cap of about $2.07 billion.
• Market sentiment is weak—MarketBeat’s consensus is a Sell (Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell)—and insiders have sold 116,536 shares in the past 90 days while institutional investors own roughly 27% of the stock.

Lightwave Logic Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 14,671,893 shares, a growth of 13.8% from the March 31st total of 12,888,793 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,823,972 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 10.0% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Lightwave Logic in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Lightwave Logic currently has a consensus rating of "Sell".

Lightwave Logic Stock Up 16.7%

Shares of LWLG opened at $13.72 on Friday. Lightwave Logic has a 52 week low of $0.82 and a 52 week high of $15.29. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -80.71 and a beta of 2.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.54.

Lightwave Logic (NASDAQ:LWLG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $0.16 million during the quarter. Lightwave Logic had a negative net margin of 8,571.31% and a negative return on equity of 46.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laila Partridge sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.84, for a total transaction of $75,240.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 80,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $552,145.32. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Siraj Nour El-Ahmadi sold 54,536 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.76, for a total value of $423,199.36. Following the sale, the director directly owned 97,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $754,023.68. This represents a 35.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 116,536 shares of company stock worth $933,349. 2.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LWLG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lightwave Logic by 50.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,155 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 3,055 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Lightwave Logic in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Lightwave Logic in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lightwave Logic in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lightwave Logic during the first quarter worth $76,000. Institutional investors own 27.04% of the company's stock.

About Lightwave Logic

Lightwave Logic, Inc NASDAQ: LWLG is a U.S.-based photonics company focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary electro‐optic polymer materials and devices for high-speed optical communications. The company's core technology platform centers on organic electro-optic polymers that offer low drive voltage, high modulation bandwidth and integration flexibility, enabling next-generation optical interconnects for data centers, telecommunications and emerging photonic computing architectures.

Lightwave Logic's product pipeline includes modulators, waveguides and integrated photonic components designed to outperform traditional lithium-niobate and silicon-based solutions in terms of size, power consumption and ease of integration.

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