Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Rating Increased to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) to a sell rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

VKTX has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Maxim Group reissued a buy rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. HC Wainwright restated a buy rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an overweight rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $108.60.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 4.7 %

NASDAQ:VKTX traded down $3.08 on Tuesday, hitting $61.93. 3,709,520 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,532,803. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.19 and a 200-day moving average of $62.95. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of -67.24 and a beta of 1.00. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $8.28 and a fifty-two week high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.06. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.19) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total transaction of $6,671,161.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,596,696.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,026 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.13, for a total transaction of $1,029,825.38. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 362,149 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,689,572.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 115,859 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.58, for a total value of $6,671,161.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,354,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,596,696.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 516,671 shares of company stock worth $33,810,813 over the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VKTX. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $190,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 242.7% in the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,943 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 7,042 shares in the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 120.0% during the second quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 11,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 114.0% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 49,311 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,614,000 after purchasing an additional 26,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 357.1% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 26,049 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 20,350 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.