KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners downgraded KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JonesTrading downgraded KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Citizens Jmp cut shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright cut shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KalVista Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.60.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of KALV opened at $27.00 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.16 and its 200-day moving average is $18.79. KalVista Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $9.83 and a 12 month high of $27.00. The firm 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 quick ratio of 5.10, a current ratio of 5.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.18.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $40.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.03 million. Equities analysts expect that KalVista Pharmaceuticals will post -1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at KalVista Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Paul K. Audhya sold 2,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.78, for a total value of $59,960.42. Following the sale, the insider owned 150,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,023,962.80. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brian Piekos sold 1,489 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.78, for a total transaction of $39,875.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $580,081.58. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 254,602 shares of company stock worth $4,656,670. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KalVista Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 137.0% in the first 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 during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted 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 valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank bought a new stake in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 2,981.2% in the first 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 during the period.

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.