Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VNDA) Short Interest Up 17.1% in October

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VNDA) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,980,000 shares, an increase of 17.1% from the September 30th total of 3,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 596,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.7 days. Approximately 7.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Vanda Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VNDA. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,211 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 4,374 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 88.5% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 20,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 9,580 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 57.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,516 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,003,000 after acquiring an additional 580,265 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 287,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 5,994 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.14% of the company’s stock.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VNDA stock opened at $4.69 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.23. Vanda Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $3.30 and a 1-year high of $6.75. The company has a market capitalization of $273.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.68 and a beta of 0.77.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter. Vanda Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 6.00% and a negative return on equity of 2.01%. The business had revenue of $50.47 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vanda Pharmaceuticals will post -0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VNDA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapies to address high unmet medical needs worldwide. The company’s marketed products include HETLIOZ to treat non-24-hour sleep-wake disorders; and Fanapt oral tablets for the treatment of schizophrenia.