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

HC Wainwright restated their buy rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $102.00 price objective on the biotechnology company's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started 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 on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $40.60. 2,038,876 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,054,260. Viking Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $19.15 and a 52-week high of $99.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.68 and a 200-day moving average of $56.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.66 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) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other Viking Therapeutics news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.89, for a total transaction of $889,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $768,455. This represents a 53.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 443,701 shares of company stock valued at $23,898,520. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VKTX. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.