KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at JonesTrading

KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) was downgraded by investment analysts at JonesTrading from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on KALV. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.60.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

KalVista Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $26.65 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.72. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.75 and a beta of -0.40. KalVista Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $9.83 and a 12-month high of $26.76.

Insider Activity at KalVista Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Paul K. Audhya sold 5,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.57, for a total value of $83,361.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 138,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,163,965.31. The trade was a 3.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian Piekos sold 1,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.22, for a total value of $37,649.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,150 shares in the company, valued at $366,993. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 263,969 shares of company stock valued at $4,536,178. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KalVista Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $680,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in KalVista Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $782,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 77,864 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 14,621 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in KalVista Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $428,000. Finally, Vestal Point Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period.

More KalVista Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting KalVista Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chiesi Group agreed to acquire KalVista for $27.00 per share in cash (~$1.9B), creating a clear-cash exit and explaining the stock’s run-up on the takeover premium. Chiesi to buy KalVista in $1.9B deal for rare disease drug
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and cut its price target to $27 from $37, signaling limited upside vs. the deal price but keeping stance unchanged. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Several brokerages (Needham, JonesTrading, Leerink, Citizens Jmp) downgraded KalVista from buy/strong-buy to hold, reducing buy-side analyst enthusiasm and potentially limiting upward momentum ahead of/around deal close. Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder-law firms Kahn Swick & Foti and Halper Sadeh announced investigations into whether the $27 per share consideration and the sale process are fair, introducing legal and timing risk that could complicate or delay the transaction and create downside volatility. KalVista Investor Alert: Kahn Swick & Foti Investigates Halper Sadeh investigation report
• Neutral Sentiment: Elevated trading volume and the stock trading near its 52‑week high reflect deal-driven activity; with the $27 cash offer effectively setting a takeover price, remaining movement will hinge on deal completion timing and any litigation or regulatory hurdles. (See aggregated news coverage.) MSN coverage

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.