Vanda Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:VNDA)

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VNDA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 13,610 call options on the company. This is an increase of 596% compared to the average volume of 1,955 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VNDA. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Vanda Pharmaceuticals from $5.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Vanda Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.13.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 45.7%

Shares of VNDA traded up $2.64 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $8.40. The stock had a trading volume of 29,642,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,255,784. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $7.32 and its 200 day moving average is $5.76. Vanda Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $3.81 and a 52-week high of $9.60. The firm has a market cap of $496.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.25 and a beta of 0.62.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $57.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.28 million. Vanda Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 102.02% and a negative return on equity of 23.85%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vanda Pharmaceuticals will post -1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vanda Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VNDA. Stonepine Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 611.3% in the second quarter. Stonepine Capital Management LLC now owns 250,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after buying an additional 214,852 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 96.5% in 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. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $174,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $145,000. 88.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.