Viking Therapeutics’ (VKTX) Buy Rating Reiterated at BTIG Research

BTIG Research reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $125.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on VKTX. Citigroup upped their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viking Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.42.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 6.6%

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $26.63 on Monday. Viking Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $18.92 and a 12 month high of $81.73. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of -17.41 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.13 and a 200-day moving average of $28.04.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.58) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($0.14). During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.20) earnings per share. Viking Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 4,266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $118,424.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,682,001.60. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 4,266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total value of $118,466.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 377,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,484,146.95. The trade was a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,421 shares of company stock worth $984,405. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 58.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 1,621.4% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Viking Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 64.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Viking Therapeutics

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.