Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VNDA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VNDA) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.30.

VNDA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Joakim Wijkstrom sold 30,800 shares of the 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 sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 333,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,788.63. This represents a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mihael Hristos Polymeropoulos sold 156,235 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total transaction of $1,276,439.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,704,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,095,732.32. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 314,342 shares of company stock valued at $2,583,985 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vanda Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VNDA. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 456.6% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,495 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 5,328 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vanda Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Vanda Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $72,000. 88.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VNDA stock opened at $6.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vanda Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $4.14 and a one year high of $9.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $387.84 million, a PE ratio of -1.59 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.93.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.82) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by ($0.13). Vanda Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 109.99% and a negative return on equity of 32.26%. The firm had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.98 million. On average, analysts forecast that Vanda Pharmaceuticals will post -2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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.