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

KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALV) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 6,842,479 shares, a decrease of 43.2% from the May 14th total of 12,052,446 shares. Approximately 13.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,481,348 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KALV shares. Citizens Jmp cut KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Needham & Company LLC cut KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. HC Wainwright cut KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.60.

Insider Transactions at KalVista Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Paul K. Audhya sold 2,686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.22, for a total value of $54,310.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 142,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,882,300.34. This represents a 1.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Benjamin L. Palleiko sold 10,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.78, for a total transaction of $292,598.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 479,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,854,105.42. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 254,602 shares of company stock valued at $4,656,670. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of KalVista Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 45.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 137.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,917 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 1,686 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 47.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,041 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank bought a new stake in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 2,981.2% in the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 4,591 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 4,442 shares in the last quarter.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ KALV remained flat at $27.00 during midday trading on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.10, a current ratio of 5.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.80 and a beta of -0.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.44 and a 200 day moving average of $19.02. KalVista Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $9.83 and a fifty-two week high of $27.00.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $40.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.03 million. Equities analysts anticipate that KalVista Pharmaceuticals will post -1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About KalVista Pharmaceuticals

KalVista Pharmaceuticals is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of small‐molecule protease inhibitors for orphan and specialty disease indications. The firm’s scientific platform centers on selective inhibition of plasma kallikrein, a serine protease implicated in disorders characterized by vascular leak, edema and inflammation. KalVista’s approach leverages oral and intravitreal delivery formats to target both systemic and ophthalmic conditions.

The company’s lead programs include an oral plasma kallikrein inhibitor in clinical trials for the acute treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE) attacks and an intravitreal kallikrein inhibitor being evaluated for diabetic macular edema.