Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Receives $97.67 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.67.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank began coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Maxim Group lowered their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $27.98 on Friday. Viking Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $24.41 and a 1 year high of $89.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.98 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.14.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.25) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $2,150,709.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,064,822.25. This represents a 23.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 54,215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,317,691.25. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 374,134 shares in the company, valued at $15,994,228.50. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 299,014 shares of company stock valued at $12,782,849. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in 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 last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. FIL Ltd increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.