Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $106.75.

Several research analysts have commented on VKTX shares. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total value of $889,790.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lawson Macartney sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $137,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 47,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,293,756.55. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 443,701 shares of company stock valued at $23,898,520 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% during the third quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,306 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company's stock.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.0 %

VKTX traded down $0.87 on Tuesday, hitting $41.66. 2,003,063 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,057,166. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $51.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.87. Viking Therapeutics has a one year low of $18.14 and a one year high of $99.41. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.80 and a beta of 0.95.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -0.97 EPS 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.