KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALV) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in KalVista Pharmaceuticals dropped sharply in May, falling 43.2% to 6.84 million shares as of May 29. That still represents about 13.4% of the float, with a short-interest ratio of 2.0 days.
• The company reported mixed quarterly results, posting EPS of -$0.43 versus estimates of -$0.38 while revenue of $40.86 million topped expectations. Analysts currently see a consensus rating of Hold with an average target price of $30.60.
• Insider activity included CEO Benjamin L. Palleiko selling 10,926 shares in May, part of broader insider selling over the past 90 days. Several institutions also increased their stakes, including Bank of America Corp DE and Seven Fleet Capital Management LP.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 6,842,479 shares, a decline of 43.2% from the May 14th total of 12,052,446 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,481,348 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 13.4% of the company's stock are short sold.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KALV opened at $27.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.17, a quick ratio of 5.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.18. KalVista Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $9.83 and a 12 month high of $27.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.79. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.80 and a beta of -0.12.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $40.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.03 million. As a group, analysts predict that KalVista Pharmaceuticals will post -1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on KALV shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright downgraded shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.60.

Insider Transactions at KalVista Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Benjamin L. Palleiko sold 10,926 shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.78, for a total value of $292,598.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 479,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,854,105.42. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Paul K. Audhya sold 2,686 shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.22, for a total transaction of $54,310.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 142,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,882,300.34. The trade was a 1.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,602 shares of company stock worth $4,656,670. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of KalVista Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP lifted its stake in KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 165.4% during the 1st quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 128,487 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,586,000 after acquiring an additional 80,075 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 45.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 2,981.2% during the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 4,591 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 4,442 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 42.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 555,628 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,185,000 after acquiring an additional 165,815 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 137.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,917 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,686 shares during the period.

About KalVista Pharmaceuticals

KalVista Pharmaceuticals is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of small‐molecule protease inhibitors for orphan and specialty disease indications. The firm's scientific platform centers on selective inhibition of plasma kallikrein, a serine protease implicated in disorders characterized by vascular leak, edema and inflammation. KalVista's approach leverages oral and intravitreal delivery formats to target both systemic and ophthalmic conditions.

The company's lead programs include an oral plasma kallikrein inhibitor in clinical trials for the acute treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks and an intravitreal kallikrein inhibitor being evaluated for diabetic macular edema.

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