Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged 65% to 122,206 shares as of September 15, representing 13.0% of Sol-Gel Technologies’ outstanding shares and 2.1 days of average trading volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: MarketBeat reports a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $197.50, despite one “Sell” rating.
• Insiders have been buying shares, including a 35,113-share purchase by Opaleye Management valued at approximately $2.4 million; insiders own 66.51% of the company. The stock recently traded at $76.77, while the company reported quarterly revenue of $0.59 million and a smaller-than-expected loss.

Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 122,206 shares, an increase of 65.0% from the August 31st total of 74,053 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 59,193 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 13.0% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on SLGL shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a report on Monday, July 20th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Sol-Gel Technologies in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $197.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sol-Gel Technologies news, major shareholder Opaleye Management Inc. purchased 35,113 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $69.32 per share, with a total value of $2,434,033.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 520,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,046,400. This trade represents a 7.24% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 55,359 shares of company stock valued at $3,824,539. 66.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sol-Gel Technologies

A hedge fund recently bought a new position in Sol-Gel Technologies stock. Navellier & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $429,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Sol-Gel Technologies at the end of the most recent reporting period. 26.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sol-Gel Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLGL traded up $4.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.77. 28,823 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,361. Sol-Gel Technologies has a 12-month low of $27.00 and a 12-month high of $97.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.61. The firm has a market cap of $215.71 million, a P/E ratio of -13.63 and a beta of 1.12.

Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 21st. The company reported ($1.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.36) by $1.23. Sol-Gel Technologies had a negative return on equity of 44.05% and a negative net margin of 910.14%.The business had revenue of $0.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.07 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sol-Gel Technologies will post -4.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Sol-Gel Technologies Company Profile

Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. is an Israeli specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing topical dermatological treatments. The company uses proprietary microencapsulation technology designed to improve the delivery, stability, and tolerability of active pharmaceutical ingredients applied to the skin.

Sol-Gel's products include TWYNEO Cream, a topical combination of tretinoin and benzoyl peroxide for acne, and EPSOLAY Cream, a microencapsulated benzoyl peroxide treatment for inflammatory lesions associated with rosacea.

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