KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KALV) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $26.98 and last traded at $26.9750, with a volume of 210621 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on KALV. JonesTrading cut KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. HC Wainwright lowered shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $37.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the 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

The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.39 and a 200 day moving average of $18.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.18, a quick ratio of 5.10 and a current ratio of 5.17. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.80 and a beta of -0.12.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $40.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.03 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other KalVista Pharmaceuticals news, insider Paul K. Audhya sold 2,239 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.78, for a total value of $59,960.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 150,260 shares in the company, valued at $4,023,962.80. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brian Piekos sold 1,489 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.78, for a total transaction of $39,875.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,661 shares in the company, valued at $580,081.58. This represents a 6.43% 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. Insiders sold a total of 254,602 shares of company stock worth $4,656,670 in the last quarter. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in KalVista Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,360,000. Vestal Point Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 152.0% during the fourth quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 1,890,000 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140,000 shares during the last quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 155.5% during the third quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 1,735,003 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,940 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals by 2,258.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 945,125 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,685,000 after buying an additional 905,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elmind Capital LP bought a new position in shares of KalVista Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,941,000.

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.