Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on VKTX. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $105.00 price objective on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.14.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of VKTX opened at $34.09 on Tuesday. Viking Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $18.92 and a 52 week high of $43.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.08 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.81.

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

Insider Transactions at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Charles A. Rowland, Jr. sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.57, for a total value of $2,134,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,067,100. The trade was a 66.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 57,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.90, for a total transaction of $1,897,046.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 189,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,247,413.90. This represents a 23.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 476,090 shares of company stock worth $15,985,782 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 41.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,092,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000,000 after purchasing an additional 616,526 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,085,487 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,807,000 after buying an additional 771,704 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Viking Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in Viking Therapeutics by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 954,272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,078,000 after buying an additional 131,994 shares during the period. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 52.8% in the second quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 638,204 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,912,000 after acquiring an additional 220,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s pipeline leverages small-molecule approaches to target hormone signaling pathways implicated in conditions such as non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes and muscle wasting disorders.

The company’s lead programs include VK2809, a thyroid hormone receptor‐beta agonist designed to reduce liver fat and improve lipid profiles in patients with NASH and dyslipidemia, and VK5211, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) aimed at enhancing muscle mass and function in individuals with muscle wasting conditions.