Vivani Medical (NASDAQ:VANI) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vivani Medical (NASDAQ:VANI) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Vivani Medical in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vivani Medical in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vivani Medical currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $4.00.

Vivani Medical Price Performance

NASDAQ VANI opened at $1.48 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.24. Vivani Medical has a one year low of $0.91 and a one year high of $1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.68 million, a P/E ratio of -3.29 and a beta of 3.18.

Vivani Medical (NASDAQ:VANI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.02). Equities analysts expect that Vivani Medical will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gregg Williams bought 2,068,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.16 per share, with a total value of $2,399,405.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,909,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,454,843.68. This represents a 14.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 46.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vivani Medical in the second quarter worth $25,000. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vivani Medical by 238.8% in the first quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 125,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 88,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connective Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Vivani Medical by 796.2% in the first quarter. Connective Capital Management LLC now owns 162,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 144,010 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.78% of the company’s stock.

Vivani Medical Company Profile

Vivani Medical, Inc, a clinical stage company, develops various implants that treat chronic diseases with high unmet medical need. It engages in developing a portfolio of miniature drug implants to deliver minimally fluctuating drug profiles; and implantable visual prostheses devices to deliver useful artificial vision to blind individuals.