Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) Receives $96.62 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $96.6250.

Several research firms have issued reports on VKTX. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Viking Therapeutics from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Finally, Lake Street Capital started coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $89.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian Lian sold 148,517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total transaction of $4,948,586.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,572,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,713,734.12. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Greg Zante sold 21,217 shares of Viking Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.47, for a total value of $710,132.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 212,204 shares in the company, valued at $7,102,467.88. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 187,951 shares of company stock valued at $6,268,442 over the last 90 days. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Viking Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 347,716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,396,000 after acquiring an additional 39,886 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $230,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 1.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 470,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,351,000 after purchasing an additional 6,696 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Viking Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $196,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Viking Therapeutics by 29.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,109 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of VKTX stock opened at $33.50 on Monday. Viking Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $43.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.19 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.21) by $0.11. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.58) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Viking Therapeutics will post -4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.