Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $108.60.

Several equities analysts have commented on VKTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 17th. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,354,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $715,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 516,671 shares of company stock worth $33,810,813. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $25,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 2.9% in the first quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,379 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 12,278 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.5% during the second quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,457 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $61.63 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.84. Viking Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $8.28 and a 12-month high of $99.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -66.27 and a beta of 1.00.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.19) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics will post -1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.