Piper Jaffray started coverage on shares of VIVUS (NASDAQ: VVUS) in a research note issued on Tuesday. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other firms have also recently commented on VVUS. Analysts at Roth Capital cut their price target on shares of VIVUS from $18.00 to $14.00 in a research note to investors on Wednesday, February 27th. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at Bank of America cut their price target on shares of VIVUS to $24.00 in a research note to investors on Tuesday, February 26th. Finally, analysts at Jefferies Group cut their price target on shares of VIVUS to $5.00 in a research note to investors on Tuesday, February 26th.

Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, three have assigned a hold rating, and two have assigned a sell rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “overweight” and a consensus target price of $18.27.

VIVUS traded up 2.35% on Tuesday, hitting $10.44. VIVUS has a 1-year low of $9.86 and a 1-year high of $31.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $12.77. The company’s market cap is $1.051 billion.

VIVUS last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.14) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that VIVUS will post $-1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VIVUS, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in the development and commercialization of therapeutic drugs for underserved markets, including obesity and related morbidities, such as sleep apnea and diabetes, and men’s sexual health.

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