Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $157.36, but opened at $141.35. Glaukos shares last traded at $139.40, with a volume of 991,896 shares.

The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $105.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $100.72 million. Glaukos had a negative net margin of 42.43% and a negative return on equity of 18.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GKOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho upgraded shares of Glaukos from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens upgraded Glaukos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Glaukos from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. UBS Group assumed coverage on Glaukos in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $182.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Glaukos from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.25.

Insider Transactions at Glaukos

In other news, COO Joseph E. Gilliam sold 3,328 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $498,700.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 102,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,310,024.65. This represents a 3.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gilbert H. Kliman sold 10,000 shares of Glaukos stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.28, for a total transaction of $1,502,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 32,336 shares in the company, valued at $4,859,454.08. The trade was a 23.62 % 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 over the last quarter. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Glaukos by 294.5% in 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 in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Glaukos in the 4th quarter worth approximately $121,390,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Glaukos by 1,235.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 816,153 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $122,374,000 after acquiring an additional 755,035 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Glaukos in the fourth quarter valued at $84,490,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Glaukos by 47.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 641,761 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $83,609,000 after acquiring an additional 207,338 shares in the last quarter. 99.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Glaukos Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 4.71 and a current ratio of 5.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $153.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.16. The company has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a PE ratio of -45.97 and a beta of 1.04.

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.