Ventyx Biosciences (NASDAQ:VTYX) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Ventyx Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTYX) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 13,388,268 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 31% from the previous session’s volume of 10,249,696 shares.The stock last traded at $13.7750 and had previously closed at $13.73.

Key Stories Impacting Ventyx Biosciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lilly confirms definitive agreement to acquire Ventyx for $14.00 per share (≈$1.2B total), providing a clear cash exit and a floor under the stock while closing risk and timing remain uncertainties. Lilly to acquire Ventyx Biosciences
• Positive Sentiment: UBS begins coverage with a Buy rating and $20.00 price target, implying material upside from the current market level and signaling confidence in Ventyx’s assets/strategic value to acquirers. UBS coverage reported
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating with a $14.00 price target — effectively in line with the acquisition price and suggesting limited near-term upside beyond the deal consideration. Wells Fargo note
• Neutral Sentiment: Lifesci Capital and Lifesci-related coverage moved to “market perform”/”hold” around the deal price, indicating analysts are treating the announced transaction as the primary valuation anchor. Lifesci/Lifesci Capital coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Several sell-side firms (Oppenheimer, Canaccord Genuity, Clear Street) issued downgrades or cut enthusiasm for VTYX after the deal — moves that can add selling pressure on any remaining float and reflect concerns about upside beyond the $14 offer. Oppenheimer downgrade Canaccord downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have launched investigations and shareholder alerts alleging possible unfair process or inadequate price in the Lilly deal; such litigation can delay closing, raise transaction costs, and add uncertainty around final shareholder recoveries. Kahn Swick & Foti investigation Edelson Lechtzin investigation

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VTYX shares. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Ventyx Biosciences in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ventyx Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer lowered Ventyx Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler cut Ventyx Biosciences from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Lifesci Capital reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Ventyx Biosciences in a research report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $14.86.

Ventyx Biosciences Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $985.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.21 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.28.

Ventyx Biosciences (NASDAQ:VTYX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.13. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ventyx Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ventyx Biosciences

In related news, insider John Nuss sold 12,675 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 transaction of $97,851.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 489,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,778,793.32. The trade was a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Raju Mohan sold 47,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total value of $365,503.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 14.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ventyx Biosciences

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VTYX. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ventyx Biosciences during the second quarter worth $34,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventyx Biosciences in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Ventyx Biosciences during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ventyx Biosciences during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventyx Biosciences during the second quarter worth about $53,000. 97.88% of the stock is currently 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.