Ventyx Biosciences (NASDAQ:VTYX) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at UBS Group

Ventyx Biosciences (NASDAQ:VTYX) was upgraded by analysts at UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on VTYX. Lifesci Capital restated a “market perform” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Ventyx Biosciences in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ventyx Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Ventyx Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler cut Ventyx Biosciences from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ventyx Biosciences in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Ventyx Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VTYX opened at $13.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $987.62 million, a P/E ratio of -9.23 and a beta of 1.23. Ventyx Biosciences has a one year low of $0.78 and a one year high of $25.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.20.

Ventyx Biosciences (NASDAQ:VTYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.45) by $0.13. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ventyx Biosciences will post -2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ventyx Biosciences

In other Ventyx Biosciences news, CEO Raju Mohan sold 47,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total transaction of $365,503.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,372,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,318,502.36. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Nuss sold 12,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total value of $97,851.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 489,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,778,793.32. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 14.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ventyx Biosciences

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTYX. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ventyx Biosciences in the second quarter worth about $71,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ventyx Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,707,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ventyx Biosciences by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 945,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,023,000 after acquiring an additional 73,601 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventyx Biosciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ventyx Biosciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $148,000. Institutional investors own 97.88% of the company’s stock.

Ventyx Biosciences News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ventyx Biosciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lilly agreed to acquire Ventyx for $14.00 per share in an all-cash deal (~$1.2 billion), providing a near-term cash exit and strategic validation of Ventyx’s small-molecule inflammation pipeline. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple analysts reiterated market-perform/equal-weight ratings with $14 price targets that align with the deal price, suggesting limited analyst upside absent a higher bid or revised guidance. (Wells Fargo and Lifesci Capital coverage noted.)
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms have launched investigations into the transaction and potential securities issues — Edelson Lechtzin, Brodsky & Smith, Pomerantz, Halper Sadeh, and Ademi — alleging possible misleading disclosures or breaches of fiduciary duty; these actions could lead to litigation, delay, or pressure for a higher bid. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity downgraded Ventyx, adding downward analyst pressure that may weigh on sentiment around the deal and any potential competing bids. Read More.

About Ventyx Biosciences

Ventyx Biosciences, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops small molecule product candidates to address a range of inflammatory diseases. The company’s lead clinical product candidate is VTX958, a selective allosteric tyrosine kinase type 2 inhibitor for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and Crohn’s disease. It is also developing VTX002, a sphingosine 1 phosphate receptor modulator that is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of ulcerative colitis; and VTX2735, a peripheral-targeted NOD-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome inhibitor to treat patients with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome.