Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Ventyx Biosciences (NASDAQ:VTYX)

Ventyx Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTYX) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 16,799 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 712% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,070 call options.

Ventyx Biosciences Stock Down 7.1%

Shares of VTYX traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $8.39. The company had a trading volume of 815,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,341,290. The stock has a market cap of $598.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.59 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $8.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.91. Ventyx Biosciences has a 52 week low of $0.78 and a 52 week high of $10.55.

Ventyx Biosciences (NASDAQ:VTYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.13. Equities analysts anticipate that Ventyx Biosciences will post -2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Ventyx Biosciences from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. HC Wainwright upgraded shares of Ventyx Biosciences from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ventyx Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Ventyx Biosciences from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ventyx Biosciences from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Nuss sold 12,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,778,793.32. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Raju Mohan sold 47,345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total value of $365,503.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,372,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,318,502.36. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 14.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventyx Biosciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ventyx Biosciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Ventyx Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ventyx Biosciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Ventyx Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ventyx Biosciences during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. 97.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.