Insider Selling: Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) Director Sells 7,732 Shares

Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT) Director Harold Shlevin sold 7,732 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $38,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,500. The trade was a 54.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Galectin Therapeutics Trading Down 6.6%

GALT stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $4.64. 1,122,352 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 992,716. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $2.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.32 and a beta of 0.47. Galectin Therapeutics Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.03 and a 52-week high of $7.13.

Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.02). On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Galectin Therapeutics Inc. will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Galectin Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GALT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Galectin Therapeutics by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,247,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,520,000 after purchasing an additional 63,419 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Galectin Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $1,580,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 602,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,505,000 after buying an additional 47,873 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 601,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after buying an additional 122,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 334,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,390,000 after buying an additional 39,195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on GALT. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Galectin Therapeutics from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Galectin Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Galectin Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.00.

Galectin Therapeutics Company Profile

Galectin Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel therapies that target galectin proteins, which are implicated in fibrotic, inflammatory and malignant diseases. The company’s lead product candidate, belapectin (formerly GR-MD-02), is a galectin-3 inhibitor being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with cirrhosis. In addition to its core pipeline in fibrotic liver disease, Galectin Therapeutics continues to explore the potential of its galectin inhibitors in oncology and other indications driven by abnormal tissue remodeling.

Founded in 2000, the company is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, where it oversees discovery research, preclinical studies and clinical trial coordination.