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

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $102.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock. HC Wainwright's price objective indicates a potential upside of 330.02% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on VKTX. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Thursday, hitting $23.72. 2,718,898 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,037,217. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $18.92 and a fifty-two week high of $81.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.72 and a beta of 0.84.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,464,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 446.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,357,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,972 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 228.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,479,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,540,000 after buying an additional 1,029,125 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $24,888,000. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 3,373.4% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 448,732 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,057,000 after acquiring an additional 435,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.