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

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.15.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 3.8%

VKTX opened at $28.43 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.15 and its 200-day moving average is $36.61. Viking Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $81.73. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.43 and a beta of 0.75.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.10). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.26) EPS. Viking Therapeutics’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.