Short Interest in vTv Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:VTVT) Grows By 24.6%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 24.6% in March to 82,236 shares (about 2.2% of the stock), yielding a short-interest ratio of 1.8 days based on average daily volume.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating (five Buys, one Sell) with an average price target of $53, and recent targets from BTIG and HC Wainwright near $49 and $47 respectively.
• Institutional ownership is about 17.51% with new/increased stakes from Goldman Sachs, 683 Capital, Geode and Baker Bros; the stock trades around $37.72 (12‑month range $14–$44) and the company recently beat EPS estimates (-$0.58 vs. -$1.09).

vTv Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:VTVT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 82,236 shares, an increase of 24.6% from the March 15th total of 65,987 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 46,188 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTVT has been the topic of several analyst reports. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of vTv Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of vTv Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, March 27th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of vTv Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of vTv Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of vTv Therapeutics in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, vTv Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.00.

Institutional Trading of vTv Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTVT. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new stake in vTv Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. 683 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in vTv Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $731,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in vTv Therapeutics by 84.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,194 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,128,000 after buying an additional 12,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP increased its holdings in vTv Therapeutics by 52.4% during the third quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 148,314 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,463,000 after buying an additional 51,000 shares during the last quarter. 17.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

vTv Therapeutics Stock Down 1.6%

VTVT opened at $37.72 on Thursday. vTv Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $14.00 and a twelve month high of $44.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.26 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $36.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.44.

vTv Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VTVT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.51. The business had revenue of ($0.02) million for the quarter.

vTv Therapeutics Company Profile

vTv Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Westport, Connecticut, focused on discovering and developing orally administered small-molecule therapies for chronic diseases. Employing its proprietary medicinal chemistry platform, the company seeks to generate novel compounds that modulate key disease pathways while optimizing safety and pharmacokinetic properties.

The company's lead candidate, azeliragon (TTP488), is an oral inhibitor of the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and has completed Phase II/III clinical evaluation in early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

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