KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• KalVista Pharmaceuticals shares gapped up significantly, opening at $16.99, after closing at $15.39, despite experiencing a recent trading drop to $13.82.
• Analysts have increased their price targets for KalVista, with HC Wainwright setting a new target of $27.00, indicating a positive outlook and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Recently reported quarterly earnings showed a loss of ($1.12) EPS, which missed expectations, alongside revenue of $1.43 million compared to the expected $1.97 million.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALV - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $15.39, but opened at $16.99. KalVista Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $13.82, with a volume of 494,028 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KALV. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $19.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.29.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $738.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.97 and a beta of -0.10. The stock's fifty day moving average is $14.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.74.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 11th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported ($1.12) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.91) by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $1.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at KalVista Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Paul K. Audhya sold 2,942 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.22, for a total value of $38,893.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,584,298.02. This trade represents a 2.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Benjamin L. Palleiko sold 32,979 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.69, for a total transaction of $517,440.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 369,595 shares in the company, valued at $5,798,945.55. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,835 shares of company stock valued at $892,350. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of KalVista Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 47.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,041 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 567.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,431 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 12,636.1% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 4,549 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in KalVista Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $81,000.

About KalVista Pharmaceuticals

KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of drug therapies inhibitors for diseases with unmet needs. The company's product candidate is Sebetralstat, a small molecule plasma kallikrein inhibitor targeting the disease of hereditary angioedema (HAE).

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