Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $98.90

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.10.

Several research firms have weighed in on VKTX. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays upgraded Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, October 15th.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 18,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total transaction of $609,722.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 422,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,149,777.20. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $710,132.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,102,467.88. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 187,951 shares of company stock worth $6,268,442. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $32,000. Ballast Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $25.83 on Tuesday. Viking Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $24.94 and a 12-month high of $43.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.84. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.54 and a beta of 0.66.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.58) earnings per share. Viking Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded in 2012, the company develops therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders, with a focus on conditions involving obesity, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and other liver and lipid disorders.

Viking’s lead program is VK2735, an investigational dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist being developed in injectable and oral formulations for obesity and related metabolic conditions.