Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL) Short Interest Up 48.9% in April

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 48.9% to 18,688 shares as of April 15 (about 2.0% of shares shorted), though the days-to-cover ratio remains low at 0.2 days.
• Institutional buying noted: Yelin Lapidot Holdings bought 17,753 shares (~$748,000) in Q4, and institutions now own roughly 26.18% of the company.
• Mixed fundamentals and analyst views: SLGL reported a ($1.07) EPS miss and $0.7M revenue versus $6.5M expected, while analysts are split—consensus "Hold" but HC Wainwright maintains a "Buy" with a $110 target.

Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 18,688 shares, a growth of 48.9% from the March 31st total of 12,551 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 83,498 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Sol-Gel Technologies stock. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 17,753 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $748,000. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.64% of Sol-Gel Technologies as of its most recent SEC filing. 26.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sol-Gel Technologies Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of SLGL stock opened at $77.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $216.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.53 and a beta of 1.26. Sol-Gel Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $4.11 and a fifty-two week high of $97.97. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $79.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.53.

Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($1.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($1.46). The business had revenue of $0.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.50 million. Sol-Gel Technologies had a negative net margin of 31.60% and a negative return on equity of 24.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLGL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sol-Gel Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Sol-Gel Technologies from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sol-Gel Technologies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $110.00.

Sol-Gel Technologies Company Profile

Sol-Gel Technologies, Inc NASDAQ: SLGL is a U.S.-based advanced materials company specializing in the development and commercialization of nanostructured materials using proprietary sol-gel processes. Leveraging expertise in materials chemistry and thin-film deposition, the company focuses on the production of metal oxide powders, sols, coatings and functional inks designed to enhance performance in a variety of industrial and commercial applications.

The company's product portfolio includes corrosion- and abrasion-resistant coatings, dielectric and conductive films, catalyst supports and specialty fillers.

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