Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $87.1429.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research raised Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 6,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $216,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 382,467 shares in the company, valued at $13,386,345. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles A. Rowland, Jr. sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.57, for a total value of $2,134,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,067,100. This trade represents a 66.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,359 shares of company stock worth $3,932,155. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $46,846,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 58.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,085,487 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,807,000 after purchasing an additional 771,704 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 41.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,092,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000,000 after purchasing an additional 616,526 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 6,315.6% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 596,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,811,000 after purchasing an additional 587,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $14,556,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $36.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.20 and a beta of 0.65. Viking Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $18.92 and a 1-year high of $43.55. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $36.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.07.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.67) by ($0.14). During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.22) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company’s lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.