Viking Therapeutics’ (VKTX) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at HC Wainwright

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $102.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s target price points to a potential upside of 291.22% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Viking Therapeutics from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Maxim Group cut their price target on Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective 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 research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.67.

Viking Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of VKTX traded down $1.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.07. 1,375,865 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,954,422. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of -26.07 and a beta of 0.90. Viking Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $24.41 and a 52-week high of $89.10.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.05). During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.25) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 50,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $2,150,709.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,822.25. This trade represents a 23.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Lian sold 194,490 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $8,314,447.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,366,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,170,867.50. This represents a 7.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 299,014 shares of company stock worth $12,782,849 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 116.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 170.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.