KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALV) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 4,998,373 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 124% from the previous session’s volume of 2,230,435 shares.The stock last traded at $26.7550 and had previously closed at $26.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright lowered shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Leerink Partners lowered shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.60.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%

The firm has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.77 and a beta of -0.12. The company has a quick ratio of 7.21, a current ratio of 7.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.65.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $39.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.14 million. As a group, analysts expect that KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KalVista Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Brian Piekos sold 1,862 shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.22, for a total value of $37,649.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,993. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Paul K. Audhya sold 2,686 shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.22, for a total transaction of $54,310.92. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. 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 have sold 263,937 shares of company stock valued at $4,572,251. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KalVista Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of KALV. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 45.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 47.0% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,041 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank purchased a new position in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $55,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $63,000.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.