Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,567,660 shares, a growth of 27.0% from the February 26th total of 5,169,383 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 479,761 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 13.7 days. Currently, 21.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GALT. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Galectin Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Galectin Therapeutics from $6.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Insider Transactions at Galectin Therapeutics

In other Galectin Therapeutics news, insider Khurram Jamil sold 21,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.65, for a total transaction of $78,277.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joel Lewis sold 37,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.58, for a total value of $134,958.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 832,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,679.36. This trade represents a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 204,000 shares of company stock worth $787,433 in the last three months. Insiders own 52.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Galectin Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GALT. Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in Galectin Therapeutics by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 53,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 14,583 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Galectin Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $216,000. Lido Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Galectin Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $154,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Galectin Therapeutics by 129.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 14,285 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Galectin Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $90,000. 11.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Galectin Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ GALT traded down $0.10 during trading on Monday, hitting $2.58. The stock had a trading volume of 40,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,733. Galectin Therapeutics has a one year low of $1.12 and a one year high of $7.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.37 and a beta of 0.98.

Galectin Therapeutics Company Profile

Galectin Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel therapies that target galectin proteins, which are implicated in fibrotic, inflammatory and malignant diseases. The company’s lead product candidate, belapectin (formerly GR-MD-02), is a galectin-3 inhibitor being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with cirrhosis. In addition to its core pipeline in fibrotic liver disease, Galectin Therapeutics continues to explore the potential of its galectin inhibitors in oncology and other indications driven by abnormal tissue remodeling.

Founded in 2000, the company is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, where it oversees discovery research, preclinical studies and clinical trial coordination.