Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 6,948 Shares of Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS - Free Report) by 80.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 6,948 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Glaukos were worth $2,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Glaukos from $145.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Glaukos in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Glaukos from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup upgraded Glaukos from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $162.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on Glaukos from $140.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Glaukos presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $145.92.

Glaukos Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:GKOS traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $151.16. The company had a trading volume of 537,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,621. Glaukos Co. has a 1-year low of $74.75 and a 1-year high of $153.50. The stock has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a PE ratio of -50.05 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 4.71, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business's 50 day moving average price is $139.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.04.

Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $96.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $91.50 million. Glaukos had a negative return on equity of 18.99% and a negative net margin of 42.43%. The business's revenue was up 23.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.50) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Glaukos Co. will post -1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Glaukos

In other Glaukos news, Director Gilbert H. Kliman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.01, for a total value of $288,020.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,336 shares in the company, valued at $4,656,707.36. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Joseph E. Gilliam sold 3,328 shares of Glaukos stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $498,700.80. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,603 shares of company stock worth $2,605,678 over the last quarter. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.