Vivani Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:VANI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 65% to 532,131 shares as of March 31, giving a days-to-cover of 1.9 and representing roughly 1.2% of the stock sold short.
• Director Gregg Williams bought 1,575,231 shares at $1.07 on March 15, raising his holdings to 31,357,183 shares; insiders now own about 46.40% of the company and purchased 4,664,347 shares (~$5.67M) over the last quarter.
• Analyst views are mixed with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $3.50 (one Buy, one Hold, one Sell); HC Wainwright trimmed its target to $3.50 but maintained a Buy, while Weiss Ratings reiterated a Sell (D-).

Vivani Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:VANI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 532,131 shares, a growth of 65.0% from the March 15th total of 322,575 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 280,776 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VANI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vivani Medical in a research report on Friday, January 9th. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on Vivani Medical from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $3.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregg Williams bought 1,575,231 shares of Vivani Medical stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.07 per share, with a total value of $1,685,497.17. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 31,357,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,552,185.81. This trade represents a 5.29% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders bought 4,664,347 shares of company stock valued at $5,666,549 over the last quarter. Insiders own 46.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VANI. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vivani Medical during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Vivani Medical by 100.5% during the third quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 32,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 16,200 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vivani Medical by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 461,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 105,398 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Vivani Medical by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 97,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 53,127 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vivani Medical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.78% of the company's stock.

Vivani Medical Stock Performance

VANI opened at $1.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $88.03 million, a P/E ratio of -2.42 and a beta of 2.16. Vivani Medical has a 12 month low of $0.92 and a 12 month high of $1.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1.18 and a 200 day moving average of $1.33.

Vivani Medical (NASDAQ:VANI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.01. On average, research analysts forecast that Vivani Medical will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vivani Medical

Vivani Medical Solutions, Inc NASDAQ: VANI is a medical technology company focused on the design, development and commercialization of advanced specimen retrieval and hemostasis products for minimally invasive diagnostic procedures. Its core mission is to enhance procedural safety and streamline clinical workflows for interventional radiologists and pathology laboratories.

The company's flagship offerings include the StopBleed Retrieval Device and StopBleed Pad, which integrate proprietary hemostatic materials to control bleeding at biopsy sites and preserve tissue integrity.

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.