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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vanda Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VNDA. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,370,335 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,740,000 after acquiring an additional 107,203 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 17.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,013,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,379,000 after buying an additional 292,172 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 last quarter. Profit Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 159.3% during the 2nd quarter. Profit Investment Management LLC now owns 571,324 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,228,000 after acquiring an additional 351,000 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 39.6% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 518,851 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,132,000 after purchasing an additional 147,066 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.14% of the company’s stock.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VNDA stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $4.75. 56,379 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,330,997. Vanda Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $3.30 and a 12-month high of $6.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $4.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $276.88 million, a P/E ratio of -25.16 and a beta of 0.77.

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

About Vanda Pharmaceuticals

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.