Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on VKTX. Truist Financial restated a buy rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Maxim Group restated a buy rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They set an overweight rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a buy rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $111.78.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $53.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $54.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.43. Viking Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $8.28 and a 12 month high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.19) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Viking Therapeutics 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Zante Greg 16,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The disclosure for this trade can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 3.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,284,352 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $58,498,000 after buying an additional 171,995 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 137,583 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,560,000 after acquiring an additional 68,921 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 147,452 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,744,000 after acquiring an additional 13,097 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,366 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 1,557.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 371,604 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,916,000 after purchasing an additional 349,186 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.