Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VNDA)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $5.93 and traded as high as $8.82. Vanda Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $8.17, with a volume of 2,655,680 shares changing hands.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Vanda Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FDA grants a formal evidentiary public hearing for Vanda’s sNDA for HETLIOZ (tasimelteon) in jet lag disorder — described as a landmark action and the first drug approval hearing in over 40 years. This raises the chance for public review and could materially affect approval timing and outcome. PR Newswire
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright maintains a Buy view with a $24 price target and issued updated quarterly EPS forecasts for FY2027 (Q1–Q4 estimates provided). The firm’s constructive outlook and high price target support upside sentiment despite near-term losses. MarketBeat VNDA
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/volume and valuation context — the stock is trading above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, market cap is roughly $485M and the company remains loss-making (negative P/E). Current intraday volume is below the 3-month average, which may mute short-term moves. MarketBeat VNDA
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling: CEO Mihael Polymeropoulos, CFO Kevin Moran, CMO Joakim Wijkstrom and two SVPs (Gunther Birznieks and Timothy Williams) each sold large blocks on March 2 (each sale ~30k–156k shares, representing single-digit percentage reductions in their holdings). Multiple high-level executive sales can be perceived negatively by investors and may pressure sentiment even if sales are for diversification or tax reasons. Relevant SEC filings: CEO (Read More.), CFO (Read More.), CMO (Read More.), SVP Gunther Birznieks (Read More.), SVP Timothy Williams (Read More.).

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VNDA. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Vanda Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vanda Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.13.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $484.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.20 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vanda Pharmaceuticals

In other news, SVP Timothy Williams sold 42,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.27, for a total transaction of $350,929.18. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 377,450 shares in the company, valued at $3,121,511.50. This trade represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Joakim Wijkstrom sold 30,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.27, for a total value of $254,716.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 333,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,788.63. This represents a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 314,342 shares of company stock worth $2,583,985. Insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vanda Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VNDA. Stonepine Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 611.3% during the second 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 period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 96.5% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 153,345 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 75,295 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% during the second quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 237,468 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 17,020 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,691,638 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,986,000 after purchasing an additional 77,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.14% of the company’s stock.

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.