Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Receives “Buy” Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $102.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on VKTX. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. Maxim Group reduced their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Up 1.4 %

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $23.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.94 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.06 and a 200-day moving average of $42.27. Viking Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $18.92 and a 1 year high of $81.86.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Viking Therapeutics news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan purchased 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.15 per share, with a total value of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $29,946. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. S.A. Mason LLC raised its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,980 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,929 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,164,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,165 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is 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.