Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $161.30 and last traded at $160.84, with a volume of 101067 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $156.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GKOS. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Glaukos in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Glaukos from $145.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Glaukos from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens raised shares of Glaukos to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Glaukos from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.75.

Glaukos Trading Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.49 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 5.54, a quick ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $146.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.31.

Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by $0.20. The business had revenue of $96.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.50 million. Glaukos had a negative net margin of 42.43% and a negative return on equity of 18.99%. Glaukos’s revenue was up 23.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.50) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Glaukos Co. will post -1.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Joseph E. Gilliam sold 3,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $498,700.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 102,169 shares in the company, valued at $15,310,024.65. The trade was a 3.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gilbert H. Kliman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.28, for a total value of $1,502,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,859,454.08. This represents a 23.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,603 shares of company stock worth $2,605,678. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Glaukos

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Glaukos in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Glaukos by 2,263.2% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Glaukos by 16.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. EWA LLC acquired a new position in Glaukos in the third quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Glaukos in the third quarter worth about $210,000. 99.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.