Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX – Get Free Report) was upgraded by UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.
Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on VKTX. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer set a $120.00 price target on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.90.
Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 8.0%
Shares of VKTX traded down $2.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,570,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,789,389. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.40 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.04. Viking Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $24.94 and a 1-year high of $43.15.
Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.11. The company’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.58) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total transaction of $4,948,586.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,572,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,713,734.12. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total transaction of $710,132.99. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,102,467.88. This represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442. 5.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VKTX. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $245,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 117.9% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 3,292 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,781 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 59,900.0% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 2,396 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,532,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,823,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.
About Viking Therapeutics
Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company’s research programs are aimed at conditions including obesity, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), and other diseases involving the liver and metabolism.
Viking’s leading program is VK2735, an investigational dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors.
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