Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $106.75.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Viking Therapeutics stock opened at $46.70 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $17.23 and a 12-month high of $99.41. The company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.22 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.20.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. Analysts forecast 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, CEO Brian Lian sold 216,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $15,308,487.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,304,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,257,979.41. This trade represents a 8.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 131,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.61, for a total value of $10,088,541.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 149,366 shares in the company, valued at $11,442,929.26. The trade was a 46.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 371,117 shares of company stock worth $27,140,009. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $32,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 253 shares in 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.