Clearside Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSD) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Clearside Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSD) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,760,000 shares, a decline of 9.7% from the October 15th total of 1,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 735,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clearside Biomedical

In other Clearside Biomedical news, insider Ngai Hang Victor Chong bought 36,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $1.00 per share, for a total transaction of $36,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $100,000. The trade was a 57.48 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Clearside Biomedical

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLSD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Clearside Biomedical by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,490,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,811,000 after acquiring an additional 314,480 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Clearside Biomedical in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $368,000. Johnson & Johnson bought a new stake in Clearside Biomedical in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $105,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Clearside Biomedical by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 731,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 59,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Clearside Biomedical by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 582,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 35,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 18.75% of the company’s stock.

Clearside Biomedical Price Performance

Shares of CLSD stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1.02. 346,865 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 400,729. Clearside Biomedical has a 12-month low of $0.92 and a 12-month high of $2.12. The company has a market cap of $77.36 million, a P/E ratio of -2.22 and a beta of 2.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.19.

Clearside Biomedical (NASDAQ:CLSD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.15) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Clearside Biomedical will post -0.51 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CLSD. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Clearside Biomedical in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Clearside Biomedical from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Clearside Biomedical in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Clearside Biomedical in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clearside Biomedical presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.33.

About Clearside Biomedical

Clearside Biomedical, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the revolutionizing the delivery of therapies to the back of the eye through the suprachoroidal space. It offers XIPERE, a triamcinolone acetonide suprachoroidal injectable suspension for the treatment of uveitis macular edema. It also develops CLS-AX, an axitinib injectable suspension for suprachoroidal injection, which is in Phase IIb clinical trial to treat wet AMD.