Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Given Buy Rating at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $102.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

VKTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. B. Riley initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 18.0 %

NASDAQ VKTX opened at $38.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.16 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.06. Viking Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $17.23 and a 1 year high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J Matthew Singleton sold 10,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $715,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,250. The trade was a 52.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 9,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $768,455. This trade represents a 53.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,306 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 124.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 84.3% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

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.