3 VIVUS, Inc. (VVUS) Metrics To Be Aware Of

In the financial blogosphere, there are lots of tools for VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) readers to track, but it’s smart to be aware of a stock’s short interest. A couple indicators typically used are: (a) the fraction of a stock’s shares that short sellers are presently short selling, in addition to (b) the difference in short selling activity.

Increased bearish shorting usually means what it implies: the market’s big players have grown less fond of the stock. Short selling that’s too high, though, sometimes has a positive effect on share price, as short sellers may be forced to buy their shares.

Here at Insider Monkey, it’s not a secret that we track hedgies’ sentiment, but it’s eqaully as beneficial to combine this data with overall short sale data. In certain instances, large players might disclose that they’re bearish on a company, but it is not an SEC requirement. Nevertheless, some retail players may want to avoid highly shorted companies with above-average hedgie support, while others may desire short-squeeze opportunities. For traders looking for a market-beating piggybacking strategy, discover the details of our premium strategy.

With that in mind, let’s take a peek at the recent info pertaining to VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS).

Analyzing the most recent FINRA data, which is reported twice each month, we can discover that VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) sports a short interest of 34.80% of float. With a float of 79.19M shares, this reveals a short ratio of 11.5.

Also, insider buying is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over activity in other stocks similar to VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS). These stocks are MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD), PDL BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ:PDLI), Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT), Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX), and Santarus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNTS). This group of stocks belong to the biotechnology industry and their market caps resemble VVUS’s market cap.