Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA) in a report published on Friday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Separately, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $4.81 on Friday. Vanda Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $3.46 and a 52 week high of $6.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.18. The company has a market capitalization of $280.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.18 and a beta of 0.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen Ray Mitchell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.17, for a total transaction of $25,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,910.69. This represents a 10.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vanda Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,509 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 7.8% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 40,285 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,927 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 596,210 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,796,000 after buying an additional 3,473 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,211 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 4,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Vanda Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 55,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 4,449 shares in the last quarter. 88.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.