KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $1.71 Million in Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 11,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,709,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Glaukos by 294.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,183,766 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $284,501,000 after buying an additional 1,630,270 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Glaukos during the fourth quarter valued at about $121,390,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Glaukos in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,910,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Glaukos by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,954,449 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $254,626,000 after acquiring an additional 98,109 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Glaukos by 394.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 89,699 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,686,000 after purchasing an additional 71,556 shares in the last quarter. 99.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on GKOS. Stephens raised Glaukos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Glaukos from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Glaukos in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Glaukos from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $162.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Glaukos from $149.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Alex R. Thurman sold 1,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total value of $162,396.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,568.04. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Tomas Navratil sold 3,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.14, for a total value of $502,630.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 72,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,658,380.18. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Glaukos Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE GKOS opened at $101.97 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.64. Glaukos Co. has a one year low of $88.16 and a one year high of $163.71. The firm has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of -35.53 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 5.54 and a quick ratio of 4.71.

Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.02). Glaukos had a negative return on equity of 16.53% and a negative net margin of 39.04%. The business had revenue of $105.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $100.72 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Glaukos Co. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Glaukos

Glaukos Corporation, an ophthalmic pharmaceutical and medical technology company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for the treatment of glaucoma, corneal disorders, and retinal diseases. It offers iStent and iStent inject W micro-bypass stents that enhance aqueous humor outflow inserted in cataract surgery to treat mild-to-moderate open-angle glaucoma.