Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Earns Sector Outperform Rating from Analysts at Scotiabank

Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 247.89% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on VKTX. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Maxim Group cut their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.29.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.1 %

VKTX opened at $29.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.32 and a beta of 0.90. Viking Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $29.08 and a 12 month high of $99.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.26.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,259 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $190,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 34.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,955 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 8.8% during the third quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,190 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. 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.