Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Glaukos Co. (NYSE:GKOS – Get Rating) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 310,099 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Glaukos were worth $13,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Glaukos during the 3rd quarter worth $61,056,000. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Glaukos by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,402,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $74,648,000 after purchasing an additional 358,360 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Glaukos by 121.4% in the 3rd quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 593,508 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,598,000 after purchasing an additional 325,400 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Glaukos by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 530,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $28,253,000 after purchasing an additional 149,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Glaukos by 71.6% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 323,467 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,692,000 after purchasing an additional 134,989 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.17% of the company’s stock.

Glaukos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GKOS opened at $56.66 on Thursday. Glaukos Co. has a 52 week low of $38.60 and a 52 week high of $61.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $51.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.80. The company has a current ratio of 6.67, a quick ratio of 6.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by $0.02. Glaukos had a negative net margin of 48.15% and a negative return on equity of 21.20%. The company had revenue of $73.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.74 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.38) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Glaukos Co. will post -2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Glaukos news, CEO Thomas William Burns sold 11,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.17, for a total transaction of $701,702.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 673,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,552,353.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 15,373 shares of company stock valued at $924,400 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GKOS shares. 888 reiterated a “maintains” rating on shares of Glaukos in a report on Thursday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Glaukos from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Glaukos from $57.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, May 4th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Glaukos in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Glaukos from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Glaukos presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.13.

Glaukos Profile

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Glaukos Corp. is an ophthalmic medical technology and pharmaceutical company, which focuses on novel therapies for the treatment of glaucoma, corneal disorders and retinal diseases. It engages in development and commercialization of therapies across several end markets within ophthalmology. The company was founded by Olav B.