KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) Trading Up 5.8% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• KalVista Pharmaceuticals' stock rose 5.8% to $14.24, despite a significant drop in trading volume, with approximately 294,731 shares changing hands.
• Analysts have recently upgraded KalVista's target price, with HC Wainwright raising it from $20.00 to $27.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• The company reported a loss of ($3.69) EPS in its latest earnings, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by a large margin.

Shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALV - Get Free Report) rose 5.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $14.16 and last traded at $14.24. Approximately 294,731 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 772,547 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KALV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JMP Securities boosted their price target 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. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have assigned a Buy rating to the 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 stock has a market cap of $796.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.29 and a beta of -0.10. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $13.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.64.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported ($3.69) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by ($2.86). During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.07) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at KalVista Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Paul K. Audhya sold 2,942 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.22, for a total transaction of $38,893.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 119,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,584,298.02. This represents a 2.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Benjamin L. Palleiko sold 32,979 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 369,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,710 shares of company stock worth $880,764. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of KalVista Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KALV. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KalVista Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 last quarter. CWM LLC grew 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 last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 666.9% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,327 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 5,502 shares during the last quarter.

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).