Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Price Target Raised to $118.00

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) had its target price boosted by Raymond James from $116.00 to $118.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a strong-buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They set an overweight rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial restated a buy rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. HC Wainwright restated a buy rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Maxim Group restated a buy rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $111.78.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 2.0 %

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $65.98 on Thursday. Viking Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $8.28 and a twelve month high of $99.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $55.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.45. The company has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.95 and a beta of 1.03.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total transaction of $4,986,005.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total transaction of $22,136,890.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.