Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $111.56.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $4,986,005.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at $27,413,639.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $4,986,005.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares in the company, valued at $13,059,845.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% during the first 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 last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 2.9% during the first quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,379 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of VKTX opened at $51.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.60 and a beta of 1.03. Viking Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $8.28 and a twelve month high of $99.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.80 and a 200 day moving average of $55.63.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.11 EPS for the current 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.