Oruka Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ORKA) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Oruka Therapeutics from a "hold" to a "sell", even though the consensus remains a Moderate Buy (eight Buy ratings, one Sell) with an average analyst target of $54.50.
• Shares opened at $32.97 with a market cap of $1.60 billion and a 52‑week range of $5.49 to $36.53.
• Insider Joana Goncalves sold 7,000 shares at an average of $32.37 (part of 21,000 insider shares sold last quarter), reducing her stake by 17.07%; insiders still own 24.69% and institutions hold 56.44% of the stock.

Oruka Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ORKA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ORKA. Piper Sandler started coverage on Oruka Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Oruka Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Oruka Therapeutics from $63.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Oruka Therapeutics from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Oruka Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.50.

Oruka Therapeutics Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ ORKA opened at $32.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.35 and a beta of -0.38. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $32.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.89. Oruka Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $5.49 and a fifty-two week high of $36.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joana Goncalves sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.37, for a total value of $226,590.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,101,162.66. This represents a 17.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 21,000 shares of company stock worth $663,530 over the last quarter. Insiders own 24.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oruka Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oruka Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Oruka Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $159,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Oruka Therapeutics by 777.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 143,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,338,000 after buying an additional 126,803 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Oruka Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $267,000. Finally, RTW Investments LP raised its holdings in Oruka Therapeutics by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 2,058,148 shares of the company's stock worth $62,382,000 after acquiring an additional 112,499 shares during the period. 56.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Oruka Therapeutics

Oruka Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel peptide‐based therapies for oncology. The company's proprietary stapled peptide platform is designed to selectively disrupt intracellular protein–protein interactions that drive tumor growth and immune evasion. By combining the specificity of biologics with the cell‐permeability of small molecules, Oruka aims to target cancer pathways that have been historically considered “undruggable.”

The company's lead candidate, ONCT-01, is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials for patients with advanced solid tumors, assessing safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.