Viking Therapeutics’ (VKTX) Buy Rating Reiterated at B. Riley

B. Riley reissued their buy rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. B. Riley currently has a $96.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $109.00.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.92.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

VKTX stock opened at $32.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of -32.56 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.05 and a 200-day moving average of $53.92. Viking Therapeutics has a one year low of $25.34 and a one year high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 previous year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. 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 in the last quarter. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.