Analysts Set Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Target Price at $87.14

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.1429.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $105.00 price target on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Charles A. Rowland, Jr. sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.57, for a total transaction of $2,134,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,067,100. This represents a 66.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew W. Foehr sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total transaction of $561,760.00. Following the sale, the director owned 132,036 shares in the company, valued at $4,635,783.96. This represents a 10.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 476,090 shares of company stock worth $15,985,782 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $28,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 6.8%

Shares of NASDAQ VKTX opened at $34.05 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $18.92 and a 52 week high of $43.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.06 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.75.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.67) by ($0.14). The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.22) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company’s lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.