Insider Selling: Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA) CEO Sells 156,235 Shares of Stock

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VNDA) CEO Mihael Hristos Polymeropoulos sold 156,235 shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total transaction of $1,276,439.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,704,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,095,732.32. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.6%

Vanda Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,262,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,910,256. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.97. Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.81 and a 12 month high of $9.60. The company has a market capitalization of $484.69 million, a PE ratio of -2.20 and a beta of 0.55.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $57.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.28 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vanda Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VNDA. AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vanda Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $17,626,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 220.0% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,139,591 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,898 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 552.3% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 708,428 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,248,000 after acquiring an additional 599,818 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 945.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 471,720 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,227,000 after purchasing an additional 426,620 shares during the period. Finally, Empire Financial Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 1,108,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,775,000 after buying an additional 350,154 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on VNDA. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on Vanda Pharmaceuticals from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vanda Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals from $5.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.13.

Key Headlines Impacting Vanda Pharmaceuticals

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.).

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.