Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Receives Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $102.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s target price points to a potential upside of 145.78% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on VKTX. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 0.4 %

VKTX stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.50. 621,155 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,745,584. Viking Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $19.15 and a 1-year high of $99.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of -44.62 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.87.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $8,314,447.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,170,867.50. This trade represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,455. This represents a 53.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 443,701 shares of company stock valued at $23,898,520. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company's lead drug candidate is VK2809, an orally available tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRß), which is in Phase IIb clinical trials to treat patients with biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, as well as NAFLD.