Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) Stock Rating Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Mizuho began coverage on Sol-Gel Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Sol-Gel Technologies in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.50.

Sol-Gel Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of SLGL traded down $4.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $64.25. 69,824 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,643. The company has a market cap of $210.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.39 and a beta of 1.14. Sol-Gel Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $28.81 and a fifty-two week high of $97.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $71.35 and its 200-day moving average is $74.04.

Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 21st. The company reported ($1.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.36) by $1.23. Sol-Gel Technologies had a negative net margin of 910.14% and a negative return on equity of 44.05%. The company had revenue of $0.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.07 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sol-Gel Technologies will post -5.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sol-Gel Technologies

In other news, major shareholder Opaleye Management Inc. bought 35,113 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $69.32 per share, for a total transaction of $2,434,033.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 520,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,046,400. This trade represents a 7.24% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired a total of 53,430 shares of company stock worth $3,684,739 in the last three months. Insiders own 66.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sol-Gel Technologies

An institutional investor recently bought a new stake in Sol-Gel Technologies stock. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 35,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,773,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC owned approximately 1.25% of Sol-Gel Technologies as of its most recent filing with the SEC. 26.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sol-Gel Technologies Company Profile

Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: SLGL) is an Israeli specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing topical dermatological treatments. The company uses proprietary silica-based microsponge technology designed to encapsulate and gradually release active pharmaceutical ingredients in the skin.

Its marketed products include TWYNEO, a topical cream combining tretinoin and benzoyl peroxide for the treatment of acne vulgaris, and EPSOLAY, a topical benzoyl peroxide cream for the treatment of inflammatory lesions associated with rosacea.