Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT) Short Interest Update

Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,270,000 shares, a growth of 41.1% from the November 30th total of 5,860,000 shares. Currently, 19.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 494,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 16.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Galectin Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Galectin Therapeutics in a research report on Friday.

Galectin Therapeutics Stock Down 4.3 %

GALT traded down $0.05 on Monday, hitting $1.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 889,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,486. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.43. Galectin Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.73 and a 12 month high of $4.27. The firm has a market cap of $69.04 million, a P/E ratio of -1.51 and a beta of 0.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jack W. Callicutt sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.89, for a total value of $35,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,614 shares in the company, valued at $6,776.46. This represents a 84.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joel Lewis sold 56,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.89, for a total transaction of $49,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 897,012 shares in the company, valued at $798,340.68. The trade was a 5.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 15,500 shares of company stock worth $23,000 and have sold 109,654 shares worth $97,456. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Galectin Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 862,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,372,000 after buying an additional 20,817 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Galectin Therapeutics by 317.6% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 483,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 367,610 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 21,399 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $387,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Galectin Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $227,000. 11.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Galectin Therapeutics

Galectin Therapeutics Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research and development of therapies for fibrotic, cancer, and other diseases. Its lead product candidate is belapectin (GR-MD-02) galectin-3 inhibitor, that is in Phase 2b/3 clinical trial, to prevent esophageal varices in patient with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) cirrhosis; and Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of liver fibrosis, as well as severe skin disease, and melanoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.