MediciNova, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNOV) Short Interest Update

MediciNova, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNOV) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 168,023 shares, a decline of 16.4% from the March 31st total of 201,034 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 35,121 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediciNova

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNOV. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of MediciNova by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 193,698 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 19,100 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MediciNova in the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MediciNova during the third quarter worth about $92,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MediciNova during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MediciNova during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MNOV shares. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of MediciNova in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. HC Wainwright began coverage on shares of MediciNova in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. D. Boral Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of MediciNova in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Lucid Cap Mkts raised shares of MediciNova to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of MediciNova to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.50.

MediciNova Price Performance

Shares of MNOV opened at $1.40 on Friday. MediciNova has a 1-year low of $1.17 and a 1-year high of $1.96. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.45. The stock has a market cap of $68.71 million, a PE ratio of -5.79 and a beta of 0.61.

MediciNova (NASDAQ:MNOV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $0.15 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MediciNova will post -0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MediciNova Company Profile

MediciNova, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel small-molecule therapeutics for neurodegenerative, inflammatory, fibrotic and oncological diseases. Founded in the late 1990s, the company advances its proprietary compounds through clinical trials and strategic partnerships, with a goal of addressing areas of high unmet medical need. MediciNova is headquartered in San Diego, California, and maintains a presence in Tokyo to support collaborations and regulatory interactions in Asian markets.

The company’s leading clinical asset, MN-166 (ibudilast), is an anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective agent originally approved in Japan for asthma and post-stroke dizziness.