Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Receives “Buy” Rating from HC Wainwright

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $102.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target indicates a potential upside of 203.62% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Finally, B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 3.2 %

Viking Therapeutics stock traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,301,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,264,952. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.15. Viking Therapeutics has a one year low of $20.47 and a one year high of $99.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.04 and a beta of 0.95.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total transaction of $10,088,541.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 149,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,442,929.26. The trade was a 46.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $768,455. This trade represents a 53.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 443,701 shares of company stock worth $23,898,520 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.