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

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday.

KALV has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.60.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.5%

KALV stock opened at $19.08 on Tuesday. KalVista Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $9.83 and a twelve month high of $21.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $977.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.83 and a beta of -0.40. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $17.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Benjamin L. Palleiko sold 9,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.22, for a total transaction of $193,101.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 462,577 shares in the company, valued at $9,353,306.94. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brian Piekos sold 1,862 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,993. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 263,969 shares of company stock worth $4,536,178. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KalVista Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in KalVista Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $782,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 77,864 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 14,621 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $428,000. Vestal Point Capital LP boosted its position in KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 152.0% in the fourth quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 1,890,000 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,524,000 after buying an additional 1,140,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 364.9% in the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 40,414 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 31,721 shares during the last quarter.

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.