Opaleye Management Inc. Purchases 35,113 Shares of Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) Stock

Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLGL) major shareholder Opaleye Management Inc. acquired 35,113 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.32 per share, for a total transaction of $2,434,033.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 520,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,046,400. The trade was a 7.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Opaleye Management Inc. also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 31st, Opaleye Management Inc. acquired 5,217 shares of Sol-Gel Technologies stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.27 per share, with a total value of $356,164.59.
• On Friday, July 10th, Opaleye Management Inc. bought 229 shares of Sol-Gel Technologies stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $73.95 per share, with a total value of $16,934.55.
• On Wednesday, July 8th, Opaleye Management Inc. bought 300 shares of Sol-Gel Technologies stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $73.69 per share, with a total value of $22,107.00.
• On Thursday, July 2nd, Opaleye Management Inc. bought 1,400 shares of Sol-Gel Technologies stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $71.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,758.00.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Opaleye Management Inc. purchased 312 shares of Sol-Gel Technologies stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.99 per share, for a total transaction of $22,460.88.

Sol-Gel Technologies Stock Performance

Sol-Gel Technologies stock opened at $69.52 on Wednesday. Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. has a 52 week low of $22.04 and a 52 week high of $97.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.35 million, a P/E ratio of -12.33 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.62 and a 200-day moving average of $77.13.

Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The company reported ($1.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.36) by $1.23. Sol-Gel Technologies had a negative return on equity of 44.05% and a negative net margin of 910.14%.The business had revenue of $0.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.07 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. will post -8.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sol-Gel Technologies

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLGL. Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sol-Gel Technologies during the second quarter worth about $429,000. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $748,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sol-Gel Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,773,000. Finally, Opaleye Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sol-Gel Technologies by 121.5% in the 4th quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 453,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,121,000 after buying an additional 248,904 shares during the last quarter. 26.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SLGL. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sol-Gel Technologies from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 29th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 price objective for the company. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Sol-Gel Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Sol-Gel Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.50.

About Sol-Gel Technologies

Sol-Gel Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: SLGL) is a U.S.-based advanced materials company specializing in the development and commercialization of nanostructured materials using proprietary sol-gel processes. Leveraging expertise in materials chemistry and thin-film deposition, the company focuses on the production of metal oxide powders, sols, coatings and functional inks designed to enhance performance in a variety of industrial and commercial applications.

The company’s product portfolio includes corrosion- and abrasion-resistant coatings, dielectric and conductive films, catalyst supports and specialty fillers.