Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,236,738 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,279 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.59% of Glaukos worth $416,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GKOS. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Glaukos during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Glaukos during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Glaukos by 54.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 929 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Glaukos in the fourth quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Glaukos in the fourth quarter valued at about $228,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.04% of the company’s stock.

Glaukos Price Performance

GKOS opened at $116.66 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $108.34 and a 200-day moving average of $95.33. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.51 and a beta of 1.09. Glaukos Co. has a 1-year low of $59.22 and a 1-year high of $116.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 4.68 and a current ratio of 5.38.

Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.70) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.58) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $85.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.60 million. Glaukos had a negative return on equity of 24.69% and a negative net margin of 43.15%. Glaukos’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.59) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Glaukos Co. will post -2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GKOS shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Glaukos from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Glaukos from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Glaukos from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Glaukos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $84.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Glaukos from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Glaukos news, COO Joseph E. Gilliam sold 59,801 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.47, for a total value of $6,008,206.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 101,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,232,367.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Joseph E. Gilliam sold 59,801 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.47, for a total value of $6,008,206.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 101,845 shares in the company, valued at $10,232,367.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alex R. Thurman sold 434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.33, for a total transaction of $41,373.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 54,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,163,644.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 81,475 shares of company stock worth $8,387,713 over the last quarter. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Glaukos Profile

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.