Analysts Set Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Target Price at $89.75

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $89.75.

Several equities analysts have commented on VKTX shares. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group lowered their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GSB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,317 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 286.0% during the first quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 20,245 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 101.7% during the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 23,800 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 6,478 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $958,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 1.4 %

VKTX traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $23.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,025,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,042,513. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of -23.94 and a beta of 0.84. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $18.92 and a fifty-two week high of $81.86.

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

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.