KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALV) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALV) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,520,000 shares, a growth of 12.2% from the March 15th total of 4,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 809,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on KALV. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $16.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 11th.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of KALV opened at $11.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $495.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.73 and a beta of 0.88. KalVista Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $7.21 and a 12 month high of $16.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.22.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported ($0.84) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.75) by ($0.09). Equities research analysts expect that KalVista Pharmaceuticals will post -3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KalVista Pharmaceuticals news, major shareholder Venrock Healthcare Capital Par purchased 4,474 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.74 per share, with a total value of $65,946.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,743,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,914,134.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Edward P. Feener sold 28,288 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.07, for a total value of $398,012.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 62,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $874,548.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Venrock Healthcare Capital Par purchased 4,474 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.74 per share, for a total transaction of $65,946.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,743,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,914,134.18. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 246,907 shares of company stock valued at $3,304,971 and have sold 75,978 shares valued at $1,070,918. Company insiders own 12.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 137,817 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,688,000 after acquiring an additional 6,670 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,732,489 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,684,000 after acquiring an additional 151,808 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 1,860.4% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 9,959 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 9,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $104,000.

About KalVista Pharmaceuticals

KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecule protease inhibitors for diseases with unmet needs in the United States. The company's product portfolio comprises small molecule plasma kallikrein inhibitors targeting hereditary angioedema (HAE) and diabetic macular edema (DME); and oral plasma kallikrein inhibitors.