Ventyx Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTYX) Short Interest Update

Ventyx Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTYX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,294,699 shares, a growth of 19.8% from the December 15th total of 6,089,007 shares. Approximately 12.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,050,759 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.9 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,050,759 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.9 days. Approximately 12.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ventyx Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VTYX opened at $13.89 on Monday. Ventyx Biosciences has a 52-week low of $0.78 and a 52-week high of $25.00. The company has a market capitalization of $991.19 million, a PE ratio of -9.26 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.79 and a 200-day moving average of $5.73.

Ventyx Biosciences (NASDAQ:VTYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.13. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ventyx Biosciences will post -2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Ventyx Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ventyx Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Lifesci Capital restated a “market perform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Ventyx Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Clear Str lowered Ventyx Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Ventyx Biosciences in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $14.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ventyx Biosciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,707,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Ventyx Biosciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,129,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Ventyx Biosciences during the third quarter valued at $3,182,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ventyx Biosciences by 925.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 880,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 794,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventyx Biosciences by 19.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,769,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,725,000 after purchasing an additional 607,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.88% of the company’s stock.

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.