Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Given New $102.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $102.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 301.10% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VKTX. Raymond James boosted their price target 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. Maxim Group dropped their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $25.43. The stock had a trading volume of 2,020,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,448,063. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.66 and a 200-day moving average of $41.19. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.43 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.07). During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.26) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,946. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CNB Bank raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 141.6% during the 1st quarter. CNB Bank now owns 5,330 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 3,124 shares during the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 9.4% in the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,660 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 50.9% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 27,584 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 9,308 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 19.4% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 144,543 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,491,000 after acquiring an additional 23,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Viking Therapeutics by 121.5% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,721 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 16,302 shares in the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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