HC Wainwright Reaffirms Buy Rating for Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $102.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 308.16% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ:VKTX opened at $24.99 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.99 and a beta of 0.84. Viking Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $18.92 and a 12-month high of $81.86.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.07). During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.26) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan bought 1,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought 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 trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 222,100.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 2,221 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.