Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VNDA) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell 26.4% to 3,200,424 shares as of March 13 (about 5.9% of shares sold short) with a days-to-cover ratio of 1.7.
• Analyst consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $14.90, and several firms recently raised targets or reiterated buy/overweight ratings.
• Insiders sold 314,342 shares (~$2.58M) in the past three months, including SVP and CMO sales on March 2, while the company recently missed quarterly EPS and reported a negative net margin.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VNDA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,200,424 shares, a decrease of 26.4% from the February 26th total of 4,346,005 shares. Approximately 5.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,888,950 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on VNDA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on Vanda Pharmaceuticals from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research cut Vanda Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Vanda Pharmaceuticals from $5.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Timothy Williams sold 42,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.27, for a total transaction of $350,929.18. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 377,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,121,511.50. This represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Joakim Wijkstrom sold 30,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.27, for a total transaction of $254,716.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 333,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,788.63. This trade represents a 8.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 314,342 shares of company stock worth $2,583,985. 10.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vanda Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VNDA. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vanda Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 456.6% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,495 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 5,328 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.14% of the company's stock.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vanda Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $6.91 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $7.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.39. Vanda Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $3.81 and a fifty-two week high of $9.94. The company has a market capitalization of $408.44 million, a PE ratio of -1.85 and a beta of 0.55.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.18) by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $57.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.28 million. Vanda Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 23.85% and a negative net margin of 102.02%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vanda Pharmaceuticals will post -1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.