Viking Therapeutics’ (VKTX) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at HC Wainwright

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by investment analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $102.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 297.23% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.42.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $25.68. 741,666 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,823,608. Viking Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $18.92 and a 52-week high of $81.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of -16.85 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $29.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.99.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.14). The firm’s revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.20) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Brian Lian sold 26,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $747,514.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,388,014 shares in the company, valued at $66,386,789.20. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 47,547 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,295 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 9,209.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 24,392 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 24,130 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 1,242.9% during the 1st quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,221 shares in the last quarter. 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.