HC Wainwright Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $102.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 212.40% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on VKTX. Piper Sandler started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. B. Riley assumed 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. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX opened at $32.65 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $46.21 and its 200-day moving average is $56.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of -35.11 and a beta of 0.95. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $20.47 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. 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.