Cantor Fitzgerald analyst William Tanner initiated coverage with a Buy rating on Vital Therapies (NASDAQ: VTL) today and set a price target of $18. The company’s shares opened today at $8.95, close to its 52-week high of $9.75.
Tanner noted:
“: We are initiating research coverage of VTL stock with an Overweight rating and $18 PT. We believe the ongoing VTL-308 Phase 3 trial of the extracorporeal liver assist device (ELAD) in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis (sAH) has been de-risked through incorporation of learnings from the previous VTI-208 trial. If approved, we believe commercialization requirements are of a scale that VTL could undertake without a partner, at least domestically. Pricing commensurate with the unmet medical need and clinical sequelae of untreated sAH could create significant shareholder value, in our opinion.”
According to TipRanks.com, Tanner is a 3-star analyst with an average return of 1.4% and a 44.5% success rate. Tanner covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Intra-Cellular Therapies, and Aquinox Pharmaceuticals.
Currently, the analyst consensus on Vital Therapies is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $9, a 0.6% upside from current levels. In a report issued on August 6, William Blair also upgraded the stock to Buy with a $35 price target.
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Based on Vital Therapies’ latest earnings release for the quarter ending June 30, the company reported a quarterly GAAP net loss of $12.68 million. In comparison, last year the company had a GAAP net loss of $12.41 million.
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Vital Therapies, Inc. operates as a biotherapeutic company, which develops a human hepatic cell-based system for the treatment of acute forms of liver failure. Its product candidate, ELAD System, is a human cell-based bio-artificial liver support system that operates outside the body or extracorporeal.
