HC Wainwright Cuts Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA) Price Target to $21.00

Key Points

• HC Wainwright lowered its price target on Vanda Pharmaceuticals to $21 from $24, while keeping a buy rating on the stock.
• Vanda recently reported a Q1 EPS loss of $0.82, missing estimates, and revenue of $51.72 million, also below expectations. Analysts now expect the company to post -2.23 EPS for the full year.
• Insider selling has been notable, with the CEO and CMO both selling shares in March; over the last three months, insiders sold 314,342 shares worth about $2.58 million.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright from $24.00 to $21.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. HC Wainwright's price target would indicate a potential upside of 234.39% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.30.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VNDA opened at $6.28 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $7.57 and its 200-day moving average is $6.79. Vanda Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $3.81 and a 52-week high of $9.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.16. The company has a market cap of $377.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.55 and a beta of 0.65.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by ($0.13). Vanda Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 32.26% and a negative net margin of 109.99%.The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.98 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vanda Pharmaceuticals will post -2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vanda Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Joakim Wijkstrom sold 30,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.27, for a total value of $254,716.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 333,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,757,788.63. This represents a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mihael Hristos Polymeropoulos sold 156,235 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total transaction of $1,276,439.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,704,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,095,732.32. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 314,342 shares of company stock valued at $2,583,985. Corporate insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vanda Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNDA. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 34.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 55,713 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 14,232 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 220.0% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,139,591 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,821,000 after buying an additional 1,470,898 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 17.6% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 66,554 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 9,960 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vanda Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $543,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC grew its stake in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 155.1% during the second quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 94,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 57,332 shares during the last quarter. 88.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vanda Pharmaceuticals

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders and rare diseases. The company's research and development efforts center on sleep-wake regulation, mood disorders, and movement disorders. Vanda's mission is to address unmet medical needs by advancing novel molecules through clinical trials and regulatory review.

Vanda's flagship commercial product is Hetlioz (tasimelteon), a melatonin receptor agonist approved by the U.S.

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