Galecto, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLTO) Short Interest Up 17.4% in February

Galecto, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLTO) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 325,076 shares, a growth of 17.4% from the February 12th total of 277,004 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 288,692 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 22.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 22.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 288,692 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in shares of Galecto in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Galecto during the fourth quarter valued at $266,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Galecto during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Sigma Planning Corp bought a new stake in shares of Galecto during the fourth quarter valued at about $334,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in Galecto in the third quarter worth about $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on GLTO. Wall Street Zen raised Galecto from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Galecto in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Galecto to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Galecto to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Galecto in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.67.

Galecto Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLTO traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $28.50. 231,443 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 422,245. Galecto has a twelve month low of $2.01 and a twelve month high of $38.33. The firm has a market cap of $45.51 million, a P/E ratio of -2.36 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.54.

Galecto Company Profile

Galecto Inc is a clinical?stage biotechnology company developing small?molecule therapies that target key pathways involved in fibrotic and malignant diseases. The company’s research focuses on inhibiting galectin?3, an extracellular carbohydrate?binding protein implicated in inflammation, fibrosis and tumor progression, as well as lysyl oxidase?like 2 (LOXL2), an enzyme that crosslinks collagen and elastin in fibrotic tissue.

Its lead programs include GB0139, an inhaled galectin?3 inhibitor in Phase II trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other fibrosing lung diseases, and GB1211, an oral galectin?3 inhibitor being evaluated for systemic fibrotic disorders.