Short Interest in MediciNova, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNOV) Decreases By 40.7%

MediciNova, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNOV) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 102,466 shares, a decrease of 40.7% from the May 31st total of 172,764 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 38,387 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of MediciNova

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MNOV. State Street Corp grew its stake in MediciNova by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 193,698 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 19,100 shares during the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of MediciNova during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of MediciNova during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MediciNova in the 3rd quarter worth about $92,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MediciNova in the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Institutional investors own 9.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of MediciNova in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of MediciNova to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of MediciNova in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. D. Boral Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $9.00 target price on shares of MediciNova in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright started coverage on MediciNova in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.33.

MediciNova Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:MNOV traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $1.43. The stock had a trading volume of 15,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,516. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.44. MediciNova has a 12-month low of $1.17 and a 12-month high of $1.96. The stock has a market cap of $70.14 million, a P/E ratio of -6.20 and a beta of 0.62.

MediciNova (NASDAQ:MNOV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.01. MediciNova had a negative return on equity of 27.28% and a negative net margin of 1,962.98%.The company had revenue of $0.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.19 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MediciNova will post -0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About MediciNova

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.