Short Interest in Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VNDA) Decreases By 26.4%

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

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $6.65 on Tuesday. Vanda Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $3.81 and a twelve month high of $9.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.78 and a beta of 0.55.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.18) by ($0.21). Vanda Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 23.85% and a negative net margin of 102.02%.The business had revenue of $57.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.28 million. Analysts forecast that Vanda Pharmaceuticals will post -1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vanda Pharmaceuticals

In other Vanda Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Kevin Patrick Moran sold 42,442 shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.27, for a total transaction of $350,995.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 411,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,112.60. The trade was a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gunther Birznieks sold 42,431 shares of the company’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 $350,904.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 494,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,087,009.19. This represents a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 314,342 shares of company stock worth $2,583,985 in the last three months. 8.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vanda Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stonepine Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 611.3% during the 2nd quarter. Stonepine Capital Management LLC now owns 250,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 214,852 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 96.5% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 153,345 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 75,295 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% in the second quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 237,468 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 17,020 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,691,638 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,986,000 after acquiring an additional 77,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Vanda Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $95,000. Institutional investors own 88.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on VNDA shares. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Vanda Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.90.

About Vanda Pharmaceuticals

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.