Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC reduced its stake in Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS) by 58.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 611 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 855 shares during the quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Glaukos were worth $92,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Glaukos by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 8,353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Glaukos by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 26,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,003,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Glaukos by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,204,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Glaukos by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,207 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Glaukos by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. 99.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Glaukos Trading Down 7.6 %

Shares of NYSE:GKOS opened at $96.32 on Tuesday. Glaukos Co. has a 1 year low of $84.08 and a 1 year high of $163.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.56 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. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $145.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.90.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GKOS shares. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Glaukos from $140.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Glaukos from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Glaukos in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $182.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Glaukos from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Glaukos from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.25.

Insider Activity

In other Glaukos news, insider Tomas Navratil sold 3,416 shares of the firm’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 owns 72,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,658,380.18. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gilbert H. Kliman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.01, for a total value of $288,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,336 shares in the company, valued at $4,656,707.36. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,744 shares of company stock worth $2,792,151 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

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.