Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.0714.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VKTX shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $105.00 price objective on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Viking Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles A. Rowland, Jr. sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.57, for a total transaction of $2,134,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,067,100. This trade represents a 66.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 6,185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $216,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 382,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,386,345. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 111,359 shares of company stock worth $3,932,155 in the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,846,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in Viking Therapeutics by 6,315.6% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 596,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,811,000 after purchasing an additional 587,350 shares during the period. Duquesne Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,556,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $12,201,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $9,283,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of VKTX opened at $38.08 on Monday. Viking Therapeutics has a one year low of $18.92 and a one year high of $79.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.96 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.35.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.67) by ($0.14). During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.22) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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.